THE Eiffel Tower was evacuated following a security alert in Paris earlier this evening.

The surrounding area was cordoned off and tourists described being locked inside the landmark while police and sniffer dogs investigated the scene.

Images and video from the scene showed a police cordon surrounding the French capital’s iconic landmark and the nearby area, with witnesses being approached by police.

One British tourist, who was trying to visit the bar inside the famous tower, said that he was locked inside the lifts with staff while the incident was ongoing.

Bob Thomas said Eiffel Tower staff told him a man was arrested at the scene by French police.

Healso said that he had heard reports of a man “acting weird” on the second floor of the tower.

He tweeted that he and other tourists were “stuck in one of the legs outside the lift”.

Adding that the area was on “full lockdown”.

Many diners were evacuated from the restaurant on the Tower’s second floor.

One person tweeted: “#EiffelTower is shut off with a large security presence from Trocadéro — trying to see what if anything is going on …”

Another said: “#EiffelTower something not right?”

The tower was closed at around 8pm BST and reportedly reopened around 30 minutes later.

The Eurostar was closed earlier this evening due to a security alert, but has since been reopened.

Passengers at the scene say security officials found a suspicious package and ordered all passengers to leave the terminal.

This article originally appeared on The Sun.