The Hindu : Eiffel Tower reopens

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 25, 2003

International

International - Globescan

Eiffel Tower reopens

PARIS: Tourists poured back into the Eiffel Tower on Wednesday, unfazed by a fire a day earlier that sent smoke wafting from the Paris landmark and visitors scurrying for the exits. The Tower executives downplayed the Tuesday evening incident, saying a temporary shutdown and evacuation were necessary after an electrical fire broke out in a sealed off telecommunications room on the third floor, the highest level accessible to visitors. By Wednesday morning, the tower was again open for business. Workers cleaned up charred debris even as visitors flooded back. ``If the tower is open, it's because it's secure,'' said an official. ``We wouldn't have opened it otherwise.'' About a 2-square metre area was damaged by the fire, which erupted in a knot of cables below the tower's broadcast antenna, he said. Blackened, chipped paint and a jumble of charred cables were the main signs of damage. He said a recently finished paint job of the monument could have fuelled the fire. Freshly applied paint was perhaps more flammable, he suggested. ``It's because of that that it caught fire and the smoke was so impressive,'' he said. — AP

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International