Fire breaks out at top of Eiffel Tower
Fire broke out at the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris yesterday, forcing what the fire brigade described as a "safe and orderly" evacuation of hundreds of visitors from the tourist attraction. No injuries were reported.
The blaze, which sent flames and smoke into the sky, started shortly after 5pm in the TV and radio transmission equipment at the top of the 324-metre structure, above the viewing platform which is the highest level that visitors can access.
A spokesman for the company which runs the tower said the same portion had caught fire in 1956, destroying its tip. Yesterday's blaze was brought under control within half an hour and the several hundred tourists in the tower at the time "were able to take the lifts down as normal", the spokesman said.
The blaze, which sent flames and smoke into the sky, started shortly after 5pm in the TV and radio transmission equipment at the top of the 324-metre structure, above the viewing platform which is the highest level that visitors can access.
A spokesman for the company which runs the tower said the same portion had caught fire in 1956, destroying its tip. Yesterday's blaze was brought under control within half an hour and the several hundred tourists in the tower at the time "were able to take the lifts down as normal", the spokesman said.
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