The Eiffel Tower was evacuated after a fire alarm at the iconic landmark this morning.
It was reported that a blaze had broken out in the lift shaft between the first and second floor 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 suggested the attraction remained closed while an operation got underway to put out a fire.
Firefighters were originally said to have been struggling to get to its source.
An eye witness said on X: “We were asked to evacuate immediately.”
A police source said just after midday local time that a blaze had been extinguished.
The cause of a fire was thought to have been an overheating device near a cable.
But a spokesman for SETE, the Eiffel Tower’s management company, has since said that 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, causing the fire alarm to be triggered at 10.50am.
“In accordance with current safety procedures, we evacuated the monument.”
The spokesman also said that there was no fire, and no visitors were put in danger.
Investigations followed to “identify the origin of this incident”, and the tower would be “reopened gradually during the day.”
The incident happened not long after the nearly £1billion finished restoration of Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral was unveiled. Flames gutted the iconic building in 2019.
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