2 American tourists got ‘stuck’ in Eiffel Tower overnight while drunk, Paris prosecutors say
(NEXSTAR) – The opening of the Eiffel Tower was delayed on Monday morning after guards found two American tourists had spent the night in a restricted area of the Parisian landmark, the Agence France-Presse reported.
Prosecutors who spoke with the new agency said the men “appear to have got stuck because of how drunk they were.”
Police confirmed the men had purchased tickets to visit the tower on Sunday night, but deliberately entered a secured area while descending from the top. They then became stuck between the second and third levels, the AFP reported. (The Eiffel Tower has three levels open to the public, according to its official site.)
Firefighters and specialists were called in to remove the men from their position in the tower, the AFP reported.
Despite acknowledging that the men posed no “apparent threat,” the management company that runs the day-to-day operations of the tower (the Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel) said it plans to file a criminal complaint, the company told the AFP. The men will not incur fines for trespassing, however, as they did no damage to the landmark, the Paris prosecutor’s office told CNN.
The tower opened approximately an hour late on Monday.
News of Monday morning’s incident comes only days after a bomb threat on Saturday forced the evacuation of the tower, Reuters reported. Visitors were allowed back inside the tower around two hours later.