Paris’s iconic Eiffel Tower evacuated following bomb threat, disposal experts scour area
- Bomb disposal experts and police were searching the area, and asking people to leave three floors and stay clear of the square under the monument
- France’s most emblematic symbol, and one of the most visited tourist sites in the world, attracted more than 6 million visitors last year
A security alert on Saturday prompted the evacuation of three floors of the Eiffel Tower in central Paris, France’s most emblematic symbol which drew 6.2 million visitors last year.
SETE, the body which runs the site, said bomb disposal experts as well as police were scouring the area, including a restaurant located on one of the floors.
“It’s a usual procedure in this kind of situation which however is rare,” a spokeswoman said.
Visitors were evacuated from all three floors, the square under the monument and its surroundings in the French capital soon after 1.30pm.
It was then closed to the public for the rest of Saturday as a precautionary measure, a French police source said.
Construction work on the tower began in January 1887 and was finished on March 31, 1889. It received two million visitors during the World’s Fair of 1889.
