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Paris was thrown into turmoil this afternoon when a topless prankster evacuated the Eiffel Tower, just hours before the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games.
The shirtless blond man was filmed climbing the 305-metre-high landmark at around 2.45pm local time (1.45pm BST), above the first viewing platform and the Olympic rings that adorn the second part of the monument.
Distraught visitors told MailOnline today how they were rushed down the tower’s stairs by emergency services as they described the chaotic scenes.
When footage emerged of a topless man being led away in handcuffs by police, he turned to the person filming it and said, in what appeared to be a British accent, “it’s bloody hot, isn’t it?”
The shirtless man was spotted this afternoon climbing the 330-meter tower
When footage emerged of a topless man being led away in handcuffs by police, he turned to the person filming it and said, in what appears to be a British accent, “It’s bloody hot, isn’t it?”
Around 3pm, visitors were led away by police and the entrance under the tower was closed.
Some visitors were briefly locked on the second floor, but were allowed to leave about 30 minutes later.
A Paris police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation into the incident, told The Associated Press: “A person started to climb the Eiffel Tower at 2:45 p.m., police intervened and the person was arrested.”
Video footage on social media shows the man climbing the tower next to the blue Olympic ring, but it is unclear where he began his climb.
It was unclear where he began his climb, but he was spotted just above the Olympic rings that adorn the second part of the monument
The man in the photo with his legs dangling from the tower
Gavin Harris, 47, who is in Paris to watch the Olympics with his wife Sharon, 45, daughter Tia, 13, and two 11-year-old sons Archie and Jasper, was on the tower when it was evacuated. He said it took “about an hour”.
He told MailOnline: ‘My wife, my three children and I were in the tower when everyone was put into one room and we were then slowly moved into the stairwell to go down the stairs.
‘In the beginning, the situation was unclear and the fear among the children and adults was quite big. The police and security were running everywhere and closing off areas. At some point, we became divided as a group.
“We were divided because my wife, Jasper and Tia had gone to the top and we didn’t know that we would be locked in different rooms on each floor.”
Police clear area around Eiffel Tower after man spotted climbing historic landmark
French police lead people away from the tower as they deal with the incident
The closing ceremony will begin at around 9pm at the Stade de France in the Saint-Denis district, a good distance from the tower.
More than 30,000 police officers have been deployed in Paris and beyond to monitor the final Olympic events and Sunday’s closing ceremony.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said about 3,000 police officers would be mobilized around the Stade de France and that 20,000 police officers and other security personnel would be mobilized in Paris and the Saint-Denis area until late Sunday evening to ensure security on the final day of the Games.
