22 August 2023 , 12:36
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Two American tourists spent a night in the Eiffel Tower after getting stuck while drunk, according to prosecutors.
The intoxicated guests were woken up by security staff opening up the Paris landmark attraction at 9am on August 14 as the men slept off their hangover.
According to police, the pair purchased tickets to the Eiffel Tower at around 10.40pm on Sunday and then jumped over security barriers while coming down the stairs.
They spent the night between the tower's second and third floors, which is an area normally shut to the public, Sete, the operator of the publicly-owned tower said.
They "appear to have got stuck because of how drunk they were", Paris prosecutors said. Firefighters were sent to recover the men and they were taken to a Paris police station for questioning.
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Two drunk American tourists spent the night in the landmark tower (AFP via Getty Images)But despite Sete claiming the tourists "did not pose any apparent threat", a criminal complaint will be filed against the pair.
The Eiffel Tower's opening was delayed for around an hour on Monday morning following the incident. It came just two days after the Eiffel Tower was evacuated twice amid a possible bomb threat.
Police were called to the landmark attraction and guests were evacuated after an unsubstantiated bomb threat.
"It was a false alarm, people can go back inside," a French police source confirmed on Saturday following the incident. However, a second bomb threat came later in the day which forced tourists to evacuate but they were allowed back in following an investigation.
And in February, two Brazilian tourists were allegedly sexually assaulted while they visited the Eiffel Tower after meeting two men.
The victims, who are sisters, met two men just hours before the assault and visited the iconic site, walking along the Champ de Mars lawn between the Eiffel Tower and Paris military training grounds.
One of the men was accused of grabbing the older sister's buttocks before she was able to escape from him. However, she found her sister forced to the ground by the second man, as the second suspect fled the scene.
According to a report filed to police, the woman claims a man raped the younger sister.
"The rape of a woman at the foot of the Eiffel Tower once again highlights the dangerousness of the Champ de Mars site," said Rachida Dati, mayor of the Seventh Arrondissement (District) of Paris, where the Eiffel Tower is located, said at the time.
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The Eiffel Tower, which was built in the 1880s and stands at 984ft, attracted 5.8 million visitors last year.