PARIS — French authorities on Wednesday evacuated the iconic Eiffel Tower of visitor after a bomb scare, the French news channel BFMTV, said. The police later said was a hoax. Visitors have since been allowed to re-enter.

Security personnel ordered people to leave the landmark after police received a call from an anonymous person claiming a bomb has been planted at the tower. Bomb disposal experts rushed to the site while police cordoned it off.

The Eiffel Tower was closed to visitors for two hours on Wednesday after a phone-in bomb threat turned out to be a hoax, police said.

The Paris monument was searched, with no explosives found, a police spokeswoman said, meaning visitors could reenter the renowned structure around 2.25 p.m. local time.

Earlier, police cars and tape had surrounded the streets below the monument, and the bridge stretching across the Seine River to Trocadero Plaza had similar barricades put in place.

The tower's operator confirmed the evacuation and several hundred people were seen leaving the building.

The tower normally receives some 25,000 tourists on a daily basis, though that figure has dropped significantly in 2020 after the 131-year-old structure was closed for three months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Restrictions on global travel have also limited the number of tourists visiting the landmark this year. — Agencies