Panicking crowds flee from Disneyland Paris as ‘blasts’ are reported
- Families could be seen tearing away from the scene in fear around 9.30pm
- Panic spread throughout Disneyland Paris after banging sounds were heard
- Several people were reportedly injured as they scrambled away from the area
- But a faulty elevator allegedly caused the blasting sounds which sparked chaos
Panicking crowds fled from Disneyland Paris tonight as reports of a blast put the children’s theme park on lock-down.
A faulty escalator at the main railway station for Disneyland Paris sparked mass panic on Saturday night.
Visitors to the theme park heard ‘loud noises’ and then ‘screaming’ as they were caught up in the drama shortly after 9pm.
There were fears of explosions and even gunshots, but a spokesman for the RER station at Marne la Vallee said: ‘It seems that a malfunctioning escalator has caused the problems.
‘It began working erratically, and causing loud noises. It may be that some people have been hurt in this accident.’
Police and soldiers were seen flooding the area around the station, which is around 20 miles from the centre of the French capital.
It follows warnings from terrorist groups including Islamic State and Al-Qaeda that Disneyland is a prime target.
Following the RER escalator problems, visitors to Disneyland were briefly confined in buildings, including the police station.
‘I was at a coffee terrace when I saw people running and screaming,’ said one vistor.
‘We all started running in panic and I took refuge at the police station with dozens of other people. There were resports of disturbing noises at the station.’
In January 2016 a man was arrested in a hotel in the hugely popular leisure complex carrying two handguns, ammunition, and a ‘guide to the Koran’.
Bomb disposal experts surrounded his car after the weapons were detected in luggage put through an X-ray machine.
Staff stopped the 28-year-old man before anti-terrorist commandoes were scrambled to the scene.
In February of the same year the man was sentenced to six months wearing an electronic tag for arms possession, after investigators decided not to press terrorism charges.
Disneyland Paris is among Europe’s most-visited tourist destinations, with up to 10 million visitors a year.