Eiffel Tower fire LIVE updates as hundreds of people evacuated

The Eiffel Tower in Paris has been evacuated after a fire broke out.

There are reports visitors are being led away from the tower, with emergency services on the scene. Witnesses have said that the landmark is currently closed while the operation is underway to put out the blaze with firefighters originally said to have been struggling to get to the source of the fire.

The blaze is understood to have been burning in the elevator shaft between the first and second floor of the tower. One person has written on X: "A fire is currently raging at the Eiffel Tower. The monument has just been evacuated. An emergency response company has established a perimeter, but firefighters are unable to access the flames."

And another posted: "A fire is in progress at the Eiffel Tower. Flames were observed in the elevator shaft between the 1st and 2nd floors. All people in the vicinity have been evacuated. The firefighters are still working."

A journalist for Boulevard Voltaire wrote: "Around 1200 people were evacuated. The firefighters have reportedly identified the origin of the flames as overheating of a cable.

"The fire has been brought under control and is now out. The fire is believed to have been caused by an overheating device near a cable of one of the elevators."

Paris is still haunted by the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral, with thick plumes of smoke going into the air in 2019. This month the first Mass was hosted after the church was rebuilt.

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Journalist Julien Tellier has reported that the fire has been brought under control and is now out.

The blaze is believed to have been caused by an overheating device near a cable of one of the elevators.

This pic taken earlier by AFP via Getty