Flash floods caused by heavy rain in Turkey’s largest city have killed at least 20 people and left dozens stranded, officials said today.

Seven of the victims were reported to be women who drowned in a minibus taking them to work.
The floods struck in the early hours of this morning, stranding cars on a main road linking the center of Istanbul to industrial areas, an airport, and a motorway to Greece.
Military helicopters hovered over districts on the European side of Istanbul as motorists were forced to climb on top of their vehicles to escape the rising water.

The deaths take the overall death toll from floods in Turkey this week to more than 28. At least eight people also died in flooding yesterday, including two in an Istanbul suburb.