Roof of historic Ming Dynasty tower collapses in China

Hundreds of tiles have fallen from the roof of a centuries old tower in China's Anhui province, smashing to the ground near visitors to the site.

Eyewitness footage showed sections of the roof collapsing, narrowly missing a number of people.

Local media cited a Fengyang County Culture and Tourism Bureau statement that said no one was injured in the incident, which happened at around 18:30 local time (11:30 BST) on Monday.

The Drum Tower - reportedly the largest in China - was built in 1375 during the Ming Dynasty but had undergone an extensive rebuild in 1995.

Officials for the county, around 200 miles away from the capital Beijing, said an investigation was under way, in a post shared on China's instant messaging app, WeChat.

Fengyang county is famous for being the hometown of the Ming Dynasty's founding emperor - Hongwu Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang.

Local authorities reportedly moved bystanders from the scene following the collapse and secured the area. The investigation will be looking at the repair project's design and construction, a statement seen by local media added.

Reports say supervision units were also sent to the site with experts invited to assist in the investigation and verification process.

The tower is closed while repairs are carried out, with a reopening date due to be announced at a later date.