Onlookers flee as Cairo building collapses

Onlookers stood just metres away as a residential building collapsed in an affluent Cairo neighbourhood.

Before meeting its demise, a large crack can be seen forming in the building's concrete facade.

As the crack begins to deepen, a large chunk falls from the first floor of the building and red dust spews out.

But passers-by in the neighbourhood of Maadi are not fazed by the potential danger, gawking at the apartment block as it teeters on its foundation.

More rubble begins to fall to the ground as the crack worsens, until eventually - the foundations give way and the whole building collapses, unleashing a cloud of red dust.

Those gathered nearby begin running away from the dust cloud, as the rubble and scaffolding from higher level rain down onto the street.

YouTube uploader Klam garayed wrote in the video's description that residents were unable to remove their belongings due to time constraints.

The Maadi neighbourhood is home to the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt, Cairo American College and the Egyptian Geological Museum.

Last year, Reuters reported that incidents such as this were not uncommon in Egypt - where new apartment buildings are routinely built without obtaining the permits required and safety standards are routinely neglected.

Cairo-based news website Mada Masr reported the Cairo municipality launched a campaign to remove the unlicensed buildings that sit behind the constitutional court in March 2014.

Last year at least 18 people were killed when a nearby eight-floor residential building collapsed.

In January, 2013, 17 people were killed after another eight-storey building collapsed in Alexandria.