Paris ? A fire broke out on the top of the Eiffel Tower on Tuesday, sending black smoke pouring from the 1,069-foot Paris landmark and forcing the evacuation of thousands of visitors.

The fire — which erupted in a knot of cables in a telecommunications room just below the tower’s broadcast antenna — was put out after 40 minutes, said fire official Christian Decolloredo.

The cause was not immediately known, said Paris police chief Jean-Paul Proust. The tower was temporarily closed.

Jean-Bernard Bros, the president of the company that operates the tower, said the monument’s lower floors would be reopened later in the evening. The tower stays open until midnight in the summer.

“At no moment was the public in danger, at no moment was the Eiffel Tower itself threatened by flames,” Bros said.

Though it broke out above the highest point visitors can reach in the tower — the third-floor observation deck 910 feet up — the blaze rattled visitors to one of Europe’s best-known monuments.

“I was at the top level with a friend of mine, and we started smelling some kind of bad smell,” said tourist Inza Dosso, an Ivory Coast native who now lives in Atlanta. “I’m so distraught. I’m glad they were able to stop it.”

After black smoke began pouring from the tower’s top about 7:15 p.m., fire trucks and rescue vehicles gathered at the base as tourists streamed out.

Up to 4,000 visitors were evacuated, Decolloredo said. Paris Police Chief Jean-Paul Proust said the evacuation took place “in absolute calm.” There were no reports of injuries.

A red helicopter swooped around the tower, inspecting the lower floors. Police blocked off access as tourists waited on the grass below, taking photographs or peering up through binoculars.

Smoke rises from the top floor of the Eiffel tower in Paris after a small fire broke out in an upper level. The 1,069-foot iron-laced tower draws 6 million visitors a year, making it the world's most popular paying tourist attraction. About 4,000 tourists were evacuated Tuesday.

The thick smoke began to taper off soon afterward. About 40 minutes later, the blaze was put out, Decolloredo said.

Proust said the fire appeared to be electrical in nature. An investigation was under way.

The distinctive bulb that tops the tower remained dark Tuesday evening, while the orange lights that illuminate the structure each night came on a little later than usual. A new special effect — 20,000 decorative lights that sparkle 10 minutes each hour — also went on.

The same portion of the tower caught fire in 1956, destroying the structure’s summit.

The Eiffel Tower has had more than 200 million visitors since it opened at the Paris Exhibition in 1889. It draws 6 million visitors a year, making it the world’s most popular paying tourist attraction.

Last month, after nearly a year of rewiring, tower operators began switching on 20,000 decorative light bulbs on the structure every night.