'False alarm' prompts brief Eiffel Tower evacuation; bomb squads search site

Police say tourists allowed back inside hours after three floors of iconic site were cleared out, with police scouting area, including tower’s restaurant

A security alert Saturday prompted the temporary evacuation of three floors of the Eiffel Tower in central Paris, France’s most emblematic symbol which drew 6.2 million visitors last year.

“It was a false alarm, people can go back inside,” a police source told Reuters a few hours after tourists were cleared from the building.

SETE, the body which runs the site, said bomb disposal experts as well as police scouted 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 the three floors and the square under the monument shortly after 1:30 p.m. (1130 GMT).

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.