Eiffel Tower evacuated after bomb threat
No explosives found after police clear 1,400 people from the tourist attraction following a bomb warning.
Police in Paris have evacuated the Eiffel Tower after an anonymous caller phoned in a bomb threat.
Nearly 1,400 people were sent away from the tourist attraction on Saturday night following a request from tower operators after the warning, a Paris police official said. Police then searched the monument with sniffer dogs, and set up a security perimeter.
No explosives were found and the site was to be reopened, the official said on condition of anonymity because she wasn’t authorised to speak publicly.
French authorities have stepped up counter-terrorism measures in recent weeks amid heightened concern about threats to France over its military campaign against al-Qaeda-linked fighters in Mali which began more than two months ago.
The tower is occasionally evacuated because of such warnings – at least once last year and twice in 2011.
The 324-metre tower is one of the world’s top tourist attractions, with millions of visitors a year.