Eiffel Tower LIVE: Tourists evacuated after fire alarm causes chaos | The world | News

The Eiffel Tower was evacuated following a fire alarm at the iconic landmark this morning.

It was reported that a fire had broken out in the elevator shaft between the first and second floors of the iconic tower in Paris, France. Around 1,200 visitors were rushed out of the building shortly after 10.30am.

Reports on social media indicated that the attraction remained closed while an operation was underway to put out a fire.

Firefighters initially had to struggle to get to the source.

An eyewitness said on X: “We were told to evacuate immediately.”

A police source said just after noon local time that a fire had been extinguished.

The cause of the fire is believed to have been an overheating device near a cable.

But a spokesman for SETE, the Eiffel Tower’s management company, has since said a fire alarm was triggered by a short circuit in an elevator power rail.

He added: “The technical problem occurred between the second floor and the top of the monument, which caused the fire alarm to go off at 10.50am.

“In accordance with current security procedures, we evacuated the monument.”

The spokesman also said there was no fire and no visitors were in danger.

Investigations followed to “identify the origin of this incident” and the tower would be “reopened gradually throughout the day.”

The incident came not long after the nearly £1billion completed restoration of Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral was unveiled. The Flames destroyed the iconic building in 2019.

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