Paris: A fire broke out on July 22 evening at the landmark Eiffel Tower in Paris, firefighters said, with clouds of smoke seen billowing into the sky.

Police said the entire tower was immediately evacuated, and there were no injuries from the fire, apparently caused by a short circuit on the third floor of the tower.

Pictures shown on French television station LCI showed smoke pouring from the top story on the 324- meter landmark, France's best-known building visited by some six million visitors a year.

According to Jean-Bernard Bros, the head of the company responsible for the world famous monument, the blaze was "a small fire". Paris' City Hall, which operates the tower, said the fire broke out in an elevator at the top, where television and radio transmitters are located.

The monument opened in 1889, and was until 1929 the world's tallest tower.