A man seen climbing up the Eiffel Tower in Paris has prompted mass evacuations near the famous Paris landmark hours before Olympics closing ceremony on Sunday.
The shirtless was seen climbing the 1,083-foot tall tower. It was not immediately clear where he began his ascent but he was seen just above the Olympic rings that adorn the second part of the monument, just above the first observation deck.
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Police escorted visitors away from the area around 3 p.m. Some visitors who were briefly locked on the second floor were allowed out about 30 minutes later.
“An individual started climbing the Eiffel Tower at 2:45 p.m., the police intervened and the person was arrested,” a Paris police official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of an ongoing investigation into the incident.
French authorities, who are on high alert when the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics will start around 9pm local time, evacuated the Eiffel Tower. Hours earlier, the athletes in the women’s marathon ran past the tower.
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The famous landmark was a central part of the opening ceremony last month with the Canadian superstar Celine Dion serenaded the city from one of its viewing areas. The tower is not expected to be part of the closing ceremony, which will take place at the Stade de France.
More than 30,000 police have been deployed around Paris and beyond to monitor the final Olympic events and the closing ceremony on Sunday.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said around 3,000 police officers would be mobilized around the Stade de France, and 20,000 police soldiers and other security personnel in Paris and the Saint-Denis area would be mobilized late Sunday night to ensure security on the final day. Olympics.