French police briefly shut down the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris on Wednesday morning following a phoned-in bomb threat.
Police evacuated several hundred tourists, restaurant staff and maintenance workers after law enforcement officials received a call suggesting a bomb had been placed in the tower.
Streets were blocked off below the tower, as was the bridge stretching across the Seine River to Trocadero Plaza. Police lifted the barricades two hours later after a search revealed the tower was clear.
A tour guide at the scene said the tower was evacuated in an orderly fashion, and there were no signs of panic.
A maintenance worker told the Reuters news agency he found the situation “weird” since the tower is under constant surveillance. He said he had worked at the tower for a year and never saw anything suspicious.
The 131-year-old Eiffel Tower gets about 25,000 daily tourists in normal years, but visits are down this year because of coronavirus travel restrictions.
The Associated Press reports the tower is scheduled to be open every day, but occasionally closes because of suicide threats, bomb threats or labor strikes.
More Stories
Africa Steps Up Surveillance Of New COVID Variants
Guinea Junta Leader Promises ‘Government of National Union’
UN Study: Weather Disasters Increased Fivefold In Last 50 Years
Johnson & Johnson’s HIV Vaccine Fails Mid-Stage Africa Study
Taliban Celebrate US Departure, Promise Tolerance And Reconciliation
WHO Says COVID-19 Wave ‘Stabilizing’ in Africa
UN Podcast Series: “No Denying It” – Climate Solutions, Changemakers, and Celebrities
COVID-19 Booster Shots in Rich Countries Threaten COVID Containment in Africa
An Abrupt and Tragic End to the ‘Forever War’ in Afghanistan
Ghani Leaves Afghanistan as Taliban Enter Kabul, Set to Take Control
UN Chief: Climate Change Report ‘Code Red For Humanity’
WHO Wants Global Moratorium on COVID-19 Booster Shots Until Low Income Countries Catch up