diff --git a/skimage/__init__.py b/skimage/__init__.py
index 59c80ed2..d1f98ff7 100644
--- a/skimage/__init__.py
+++ b/skimage/__init__.py
@@ -69,7 +69,8 @@ try:
     from .version import version as __version__
 except ImportError:
     __version__ = "unbuilt-dev"
-del version
+else:
+    del version
 
 
 try: