Istanbul apartment building crumbles after heavy rain

A four-storey apartment block in the Turkish city of Istanbul has crumbled into rubble on live television following a nearby landslip.

Heavy rains washed away the base of the building following the excavation of a neighbouring patch of land as part of a construction site.

Residents were evacuated from the building as it teetered over the edge of a washed-away hill.

Several hours later, the building crumbled into a cloud of dust in front of a crowd of camera operators and journalists.

No-one was hurt in the collapse.

The apartment block was built in 1994.

Local mayor Ahmet Misbah Demircan vowed the displaced residents would immediately be provided with new housing.

Heavy rain has been bombarding the city of 15 million in the past month.

Only a few hundred kilometres away, at least 74 people have been confirmed dead in wildfires near Athens, Greece.