An explosive noise at Disneyland Paris caused a mass panic on Saturday night, several people were slightly injured. It was a false alarm tweeted the French Interior Ministry. Security forces have confirmed that no threat exists.
The loud noises were reportedly generated by a broken conveyor or escalator. In social networks, there had previously been talk of gunfire and a possible attack.
The incident took place in the business park Disney Village in the park east of Paris, as the news broadcaster BFMTV reported. Visitors were therefore not allowed to leave the shops of the business zone temporarily, as security forces checked the situation. The police operation on the site but was terminated in the evening.
"We did not know what had happened"
A 38-year-old eyewitness told AFP that some visitors were hiding behind cash registers. It took about five minutes. "Everyone thought it was a stop." There were police everywhere. However, nobody explained what was going on. "We did not know what had happened."
The amusement park 30 kilometers east of Paris is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Europe. It includes two theme parks, seven hotels with a total capacity of 5800 rooms, two large convention centers and a golf course.
France has repeatedly been the target of Islamist terrorist attacks in recent years. In December, a police-accused offender had recently shot at passers-by in downtown Strasbourg and attacked them with a knife. Five people died. The terrorist militia "Islamic State" (IS) reclaims the terrorist attack for itself.
In November 2015, assassins killed more than 130 people in a terror series in Paris. The perpetrators attacked the spectators of a football game in the Stade de France, the visitors of a rock concert in the Bataclan Theater and guests of various bars and restaurants.