Eiffel Tower evacuated after man climbs up to Olympic rings

The Eiffel Tower in Paris was evacuated early Sunday after a man was spotted climbing the structure and scaling the Olympic rings.

Police in Paris escorted tourists and Olympic attendees out of and away from the tower just after 3 p.m. local time. A bystander shared photo and video of a man climbing up the side of the massive tower.

The man, shirtless and wearing what appears to be climbing gear, can be seen in the video scaling the leftmost blue Olympic ring, which was attached to the tower for the games. 

“An individual started climbing the Eiffel Tower at 2:45 p.m., police intervened and the person was detained,” a Paris police official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of an ongoing investigation into the incident. 

The Paris Olympics closing ceremony went on as planned Sunday evening, about six hours after the tower was cleared due to the climber.