Police have evacuated the Gare de Lyon train station in Paris after a fire engulfed several vehicles and sent a large cloud of black smoke over the neighbourhood.

Police said the fire was under control by nightfall but flames could still be seen rising from the street near the station, near the banks of the Seine River.

At one point, the station’s landmark clock tower was engulfed in smoke.
Someone set fire to a scooter during an unauthorised concert near the train station and the flames quickly spread to other vehicles nearby, a police official said.

#Paris: A large fire has broken out close to the Gare de Lyon railway station in the French capital of Paris. The station has been evacuated.
pic.twitter.com/lunTC41wBQ

— I.E.N. (@BreakingIEN) February 28, 2020

Authorities urged people to avoid the area in eastern Paris while emergency workers fight the fire.

Paris police said they had no reports of injuries yet but the situation was still evolving.

Local news reports say the fire started amid tensions around a concert by a Congolese rapper.