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Paris attack: Area around Eiffel Tower evacuated after false bomb alert

Police searched a nearby hotel room by room after closing the Champs de Mars underground station

Samuel Osborne
Saturday 14 November 2015 17:35 EST
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French soldiers patrol the area at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in Paris on November 14, 2015
French soldiers patrol the area at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in Paris on November 14, 2015 (AFP/Getty)

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The area around the Eiffel Tower has been evacuated as heavily armed police searched the nearby Pullman Hotel, in response to what has emerged to be a false bomb alert.

Police searched the hotel room by room as they investigated the alert.

They also closed the Champs de Mars underground station.

One witness with a view of the hotel said there were "dozens of cops with automatic weapons taking cover and training their weapons on the Pullman hotel."

A spokesperson for the Accor hotel chain said a false bomb alert was behind the evacuation of the Pullman Hotel.

It is unknown whether the alert was made as a hoax, a bomb threat or if someone was genuinely concerned they had found a bomb.

The cordon around the hotel has now been lifted.

Police are currently searching for accomplices to the terror attacks in Paris, which left at least 128 dead.

The attackers targeted the Stade de France and the Bataclan music venue, as well as several cafes and restaurants.

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