A tragic accident occurred on Wednesday in Lisbon, Portugal, when a funicular railway derailed, resulting in at least 15 fatalities and injuring 18 others. The Gloria funicular, a popular tourist attraction resembling a tram, was left in ruins after the crash. Officials reported that at least five of the injured are in critical condition, but the nationalities of those affected are yet to be confirmed.
The aftermath of the accident was captured in a shocking video, showing the funicular crushed and destroyed. Emergency services were seen extracting bodies from the wreckage of the yellow-and-white electric-powered streetcar, which was found lying on its side.
Lisbon’s Mayor, Carlos Moedas, expressed his sorrow over the incident, describing it as a tragedy unlike any the city has ever seen. The accident has left the city in mourning, he added.
Local media reported that the victims included not only passengers but also pedestrians and individuals in cars that were overturned when the tram broke free. Eyewitnesses recounted the horrifying scene of the runaway streetcar barreling down the slope and landing on a man walking on the sidewalk. One woman described the impact of the tram hitting a building as “brutal” and likened the collapse of the funicular to a cardboard box, suggesting a failure of the brakes.
The National Institute for Medical Emergencies confirmed that five people were hospitalized in serious condition, including a child who was not critically injured. The institute also reported that several foreigners were among the injured, but the exact number remains unclear.
Emergency responders were able to free all those trapped in the wreckage within two hours. The cause of the crash, which occurred on a steep 900-foot hillside in the Portuguese capital, is still under investigation. A local newspaper, Observador, reported that an overhead cable along the route came loose, causing the car to lose control and crash into a nearby building.
Emergency services were alerted to the crash just after 6 p.m. local time during the evening rush hour. A total of 62 emergency service personnel and 22 vehicles were dispatched to the scene, according to the civil protection website.
The health ministry confirmed that no children were among the fatalities. The identities of the deceased have not yet been released. Portugal’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa extended his condolences to all those affected by the tragedy.
The Gloria Funicular, a public service that first opened in 1885 and was electrified 30 years later, is a significant landmark in Lisbon. Carris, the company that operates the tram, assured that its scheduled maintenance had been properly completed.