The Eiffel Tower was briefly evacuated Wednesday morning after somebody called in a bomb threat, the Associated Press reported.
An official with the Eiffel Tower, whose name was not authorized to be released publicly, told the Associated Press that police evacuated the building after an anonymous caller said that there was a bomb placed inside. Streets below the tower were blocked off for about 2 hours while police searched for the bomb. (RELATED: Eiffel Tower Evacuated After Man Is Caught Climbing It)
The Eiffel Tower and a large area around it in the French capital of Paris was cordoned off by the police after an anonymous tip of a bomb threat pic.twitter.com/hvTHCIG29X
— TRT World (@trtworld) September 23, 2020
“It was an orderly evacuation, there was no panic,” Manuel, a tour guide, told Reuters.
Police said that they began removing the barricades after they found no signs of a bomb in the building, according to the Associated Press.
In a typical year, the Eiffel Tower sees about 25,000 tourists per day, but those numbers are drastically reduced this year due to the coronavirus pandemic and travel restrictions. Bomb threats, suicide threats, or labor strikes occasionally force the tower to close, but it is scheduled to be open year-round.