The Eiffel Tower was evacuated on Christmas Eve after a fire alarm was triggered following a technical problem in an elevator.
Around 1,000 visitors were escorted from the monument on Tuesday morning while French emergency services investigated the matter.
According to the Daily Mail, a spokesperson for SETE, the tower’s management company, confirmed that the problem stemmed from a short circuit in the elevator’s power rail between the second floor and the top of the monument. The fire alarm went off at 10:50 a.m., prompting the evacuation in accordance with safety protocols.
There was no fire and no visitors were in danger, the spokesperson assured. Investigations were launched to determine the cause of the incident, and the tower was gradually reopened later that day.
The Eiffel Tower, standing at 1,083 feet, is one of the world’s most iconic monuments, attracting approximately six million visitors each year. Fire safety has been strengthened in Parisian monuments since the Notre-Dame fire in 2019.
