Eiffel Tower fire: Everything to know so far as 1,200 people get evacuated

French news outlets Frontières and Boulevard Voltaire reported that the Eiffel Tower caught fire on December 24, 2024, a day before Christmas. A police source later confirmed that the fire was put out.

The area was filled with law enforcement officials trying to tackle the blaze while assessing the safety of tourists. The Metro reported that the attraction was temporarily shut down as authorities worked to control the situation.

A journalist for Boulevard Voltaire reported that about 1,200 people were evacuated from the scene when the fire broke out at the Eiffel Tower. The journalist stated:

"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."

As mentioned, an overheating device near a cable was responsible for causing the fire. Additional details about the fire have been awaited.

Not just law enforcement officials but also several people, including tourists, witnessed the fire at the Eiffel Tower, which attracts about 25,000 people every day. As per reports by First Post, the local media were told that the fire was first noticed in the elevator shaft between the first and second floors.

No casualty has been reported as of now. This incident follows misleading clips that circulated earlier this year in January, falsely claiming that the Eiffel Tower was on fire. However, a real fire did occur in 1956 in the tower's television transmission room, causing some severe damage.

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Paris authorities previously criticized for allegedly neglecting the Eiffel Tower maintenance

Earlier this year, in April, The Art Newspaper reported that the National government as well as the union workers claimed that the city officials were failing to properly maintain the tower. Union spokesman Alexandre Leborgne stated that rusting was a major issue, stating:

"Employees see day-by-day that the tower is rusting, and that [this] could become irreversible."

Tourism minister Olivia Grégoire also shared his take on the situation, stating:

"Paris’s mayor is travelling around the world but has left the symbol of France in a state of disrepair."

The outlet also reported that there were issues between the city council and the company contracted to run the Eiffel Tower. After the government opted for a year-long lockdown, the company reportedly lost about €100m between 2020 and 2021.

As for the recent incident, the tower management confirmed that the fire was restricted to the elevator only and didn't spread to other parts of the attraction. Preliminary investigations suggest that an electrical fault may have caused the fire, although other possible causes have not been ruled out.

The management has further confirmed that they would look into the incident thoroughly. Travel and Tour World reported that visitors were urged to keep a check on the official website of the Eiffel Tower for further updates.