3 men arrested after 19-year-old girl is gagged and gang-raped under Eiffel Tower

Three men have been detained in Paris today (24 September) after a teenager was allegedly gang raped underneath the Eiffel Tower.

The 19-year-old was lured to the Paris tourist attraction on Facebook, after making arrangements to go on a "date".

She had been exchanging messages with a man who she believed was a 17-year-old from North Africa. They first met close to her home in the Paris suburbs, however on Sunday night they arranged to meet at the Champs des Mars, near the Eiffel Tower.

As source close to the case said the victim was expecting a romantic evening with her date. "It was a warm night, and she expected to eat strawberries and grapes, and to drink Coke, but then the attack took place."

On arrival, the woman was reportedly met by three men. She was dragged underneath a bush, where a blanket had been laid out.

She was gagged and tied up before being brutally beaten and subjected to a horrifying sexual assault by the men.

A couple, who were jogging in the French capital early on Monday morning, discovered the victim naked and crying and in a state of shock. After the alarm was raised police used computer data to trace the three men to a hotel in the 18th arrondissement of Paris.

They were caught on Monday as they tried to flee to Germany.

The suspects reportedly told police claimed they were 17-year-olds from Tunisia, seeking asylum. However, official sources have revealed the men are Algerians who live in Germany.

"An enquiry is underway to try and work out exactly who they are, and what they were doing in France," said the source.

All the men deny rape, claiming they were involved in a "consensual adult relationship" with the woman. The three men have been remanded in custody as prosecutors and police continue a rape investigation Mail Online reports.

The victim, who is said to have recently run away from her mother's home in the Paris suburbs, is currently in the care of social services.