Eiffel Tower closed for hours after intruder spotted with a backpack

Paris’s Eiffel Tower was closed for several hours after an intruder with a backpack was spotted inside the iconic monument before its daily opening hours, officials have said. The tower was reopened at 2:45 pm (local time) yesterday after being closed to the public for the morning, the press department for the tourist attraction said. [caption id=“attachment_1170017” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Reuters [/caption] Before it opened on yesterday morning, “an individual was seen in the structure with a backpack”, a source close to the matter said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “To remove all doubt, a helicopter was sent to carry out an inspection of the structure.” Firefighters were also dispatched to the site, but “found nothing”, according to a fire department spokesman. A policeman at the scene said the intruder may have been an adventurer seeking to parachute off the tower, which is 324 metres (354 yards) tall, a sight not uncommon in the French capital. In 2005, however, a Norwegian man died while attempting a similar feat. The “Iron Lady” attracts around seven million visitors a year, of which nearly nine in 10 are foreign tourists. AFP