French police close Gare de Lyon train station as huge blaze erupts

Parisian police are evacuating one of Europe's busiest train stations, Gare de Lyon, after a huge blaze broke out.

Authorities have urged people to avoid the area and confirmed that firefighters have extinguished the fire but flames could still be seen rising from the street near the banks of the Seine River.

At one point, the station's landmark clock tower was engulfed in smoke.

A police official said someone set fire to a scooter during an unauthorized concert near the train station, and the flames quickly spread to other vehicles nearby.

Paris police said they have no reports of injuries yet but the situation is still evolving.

French news reported the fire started amid tensions around a concert by a Congolese rapper.

Gare de Lyon is the station for trains heading southeast out of the city, including trains to Dijon, Lyon, Avignon, Marseille, Nice, the French Alps, Switzerland, Italy and Barcelona.

The station is one of the six large mainline railway station terminals in Paris.

Around 90,000,000 passengers every year travel via Gare de Lyon, making it the third busiest station of France and one of the busiest of Europe.