Turkey New Year party massacre gunman hunted by security forces

Turkish police are hunting a gunman who killed at least 39 people in a New Year nightclub attack in Istanbul.

Twenty-four of the fatalities were reportedly foreign citizens from countries including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, India, France, Tunisia, Israel and Belgium.

Another 69 people were wounded, four critically, in what Istanbul's governor described as a "terrorist attack" at the Reina club which was popular with tourists.

CCTV footage has emerged of the moment the killer opened fire outside and then stormed the building that was packed with up to 600 revellers celebrating the New Year.

He first fatally shot policeman Burak Yildiz and travel agent Ayhan Arik at the front of the venue around 1.15am local time, before randomly attacking people inside the nightspot.

It was initially reported the assailant, armed with a long-barrelled gun, had been wearing a Father Christmas outfit but this was later denied by the Turkish prime minister.

The attacker is believed to have changed his clothes to escape the scene.

"The search for the terrorist continues... I hope (the assailant) will be captured quickly, God willing," said interior minister Suleyman Soylu.

He added: "This was a massacre, a truly inhuman savagery."

Witnesses described diving under tables as the assailant opened fire, while one reveller told how she had to lift dead bodies off her to escape the building after the attack.

Some party-goers jumped into the nearby Bosphorus to escape the slaughter in the Ortakoy district.

Sinem Uyanik said she saw several bodies inside the club, which is on the European side of the waterway, and her husband Lutfu Uyanik was wounded.

"Before I could understand what was happening, my husband fell on top me," she said.

"I had to lift several bodies from on top of me before I could get out."

Governor Vasip Sahin said: "A terrorist with a long-range weapon ... brutally and savagely ...fired bullets on innocent people.

"They (the revellers) were there solely to celebrate the New Year and have fun."

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the attack was designed to destabilise the country.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said UK tourists should follow the advice of local authorities while remaining vigilant.

Attempts are being made to see whether any Britons were among the dead and injured.

Prime Minister Theresa May has written to Mr Erdogan to underline the UK's commitment to defeating terrorism following the New Year attack.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has called the atrocity "cowardly", while the White House condemned its "savagery".

Security measures had already been heightened in major Turkish cities, with police barring traffic leading up to key city squares.

In Istanbul, 17,000 police officers were on duty, some disguised as Santa Claus and others as street vendors, state-run news agency Anadolu reported.

Ankara and Istanbul have been targeted by several attacks in 2016 carried out by the Islamic State group or Kurdish rebels and leaving 180 people dead.