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Eiffel Tower evacuated amid bomb threat

An anonymous call threateneing an attack on the Eiffel Tower in Paris caused the evacuation of more than 1,400 people Saturday evening.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

The Eiffel Tower in Paris has been evacuated after an anonymous phone-call threatening an attack, reports BBC News.

An estimated 1,400 people were visiting the site when France's anti-terrorism police made the decision to clear it.

A security perimeter was set up around the world-famous monument and police said a search could take several hours, local media reported.

The tower has been threatened several times in recent years. In 2011, 4,000 people were cleared from it.

L'Express news website said that tourists and staff were told to come down from the tower at around 19:00 local time (18:00 GMT) on Saturday.

Security guards were also ordered to leave, a decision described as unusual.

Read more of this reprt from BBC News.