BREAKING NEWS: Eiffel Tower is closed to visitors after terror suspect 'with large rucksack' is seen ascending France's most famous attraction
- The landmark attraction was today shut to visitors due to a terrorism scare
- Anti-terrorist police were supported by a helicopter following 9am alarm
- A police source said they had received report of a man carrying a rucksack
Published:
06:20 EST, 20 September 2015
|
Updated:
06:48 EST, 20 September 2015
The
Eiffel Tower was shut to all visitors today after a terrorist suspect
with ‘a large rucksack’ was seen ascending France’s most popular tourist
attraction.
Anti-terrorist
police supported by a helicopter could be seen at the iconic landmark
following the alarm being raised at around 9am.
‘There’s been a report of a man with a rucksack,’ said a police source assisting with the evacuation of the tower.
The Eiffel Tower
was shut to all visitors today due to a terrorism scare amid reports of a
man seen carrying a rucksack. File image used
The
unidentified man was seen in the tower at least an hour before it
opened, said another police source. By early afternoon, he had still not
been found.
Hundreds of people were already waiting to go up, but were told to vacate the area, as ticket booths were shut.
The
tower has frequently been threatened by terrorist groups, including
al-Qaeda and ISIS, with security stepped up since attacks by three
radical Islamist gunmen in the city in January.
A police cordon was formed around the tower and people were moved to the banks of the nearby River Seine.
There
have been numerous bomb alerts at the Eiffel Tower in recent years, and
France is currently on the highest state vigilance alert.
But
as today’s hunt for the man continued, police did not rule out the
possibility that he might be an extreme parachutist hoping to jump off
the structure.
‘It’s
happened in the past,’ said the same police source. ‘The parachutist
hides his kit the night before, and then gets into the tower and jumps
off, while videoing.’
In 2005, a Norwegian parachutist died while attempting to jump off the tower.
The
1,050ft tall iron lattice tower was built for the 1889 World’s Fair,
and soon turned into a prestige symbol of modern France.
It is the most visited paid-for monument in the world, with some 7million people a year going up it.
For all these reasons, French security officials frequently highlight the tower’s vulnerability to terrorist attack.
No comments:
Post a Comment