Disneyland Paris release statement after ‘loud bang’ sends people running from the park

Loud noises and fears of terror activity sent Disneyland Paris visitors running from the park last night.

Shortly after 8:30pm on Saturday night, customers were filmed screaming and leaving the grounds of Disneyland when loud noises sent people running in fear.

Ahora mismo posible atentado en #Disneylandparis pic.twitter.com/Qyq8tnUmPR

— kemalEsMio (@kemalesmio) March 23, 2019

Armed police arrived at 9pm to the scene as people were evacuated from the park and the place was put on lockdown. However, after assessing the scene, a spokesperson for Disneyland cleared the air, addressing the issue as a faulty escalator raising the alarm.

"There has been no explosions, no shootings, no injuries. It a false alarm. "Please don’t read any rumours or stories that over exaggerate – the lockdown and police attendance were standard procedure following any sort of incident."

The false alarm however, was one the park took very seriously after previous threats from terror groups that Disneyland was a prime target. Speaking to Sud Info, one woman who was at the park with her son said:

"The security guards locked the doors and we were evacuated by the back shop. ‘It was really panic. Many people were crying. We really wondered what was going on. I was with my son."

France24 also noted some minor casualties...

False alarm confirmed at #DisneylandParis tonight. Police and local authorities say technical problems with an escalator caused loud noises, sparked a panic. A few people were lightly injured in the ensuing rush, and hotels, shops etc went into lockdown as a precaution

— Catherine Norris-Trent (@cntrentF24) March 23, 2019

The park has reopened as normal today.