Portugal mourns Lisbon funicular crash victims, 16 dead and 21 injured. Image: BBC
(The Post News)- Portugal has announced a national day of mourning after a historic railway cable car accident in Lisbon claimed at least 16 lives and left more than 21 people injured.
The 140-year-old Glória funicular, a yellow railway car that travels up and down a steep slope in central Lisbon. Well-known as a tourist attraction, the cable car derailed on Wednesday, 03 September, at about 18:15 local time (17:15 GMT) and slammed into a building near Liberty Avenue.
Emergency services reported that 11 of the injured were foreign nationals, including two Germans and two Spaniards, as well as citizens from France, Italy, Switzerland, Canada, South Korea, Morocco, and Cape Verde. Some of the injured are in a serious condition. Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas described the incident as “a tragic day for our city.”
Preliminary investigation reports that the yellow funicular overturned on the cobblestone street, with people fleeing as smoke filled the scene. Authorities said emergency responders had to rescue several passengers trapped in the wreckage.
“The incident occurred at the start of the evening rush hour, around 6 p.m. local time, and victims were reported to have been pulled out of the wreckage in just over two hours,” the authorities stated.
President Marcelo Rebelo declared that Lisbon is in mourning, describing the incident as “a tragedy the like of which we’ve never seen.”
The office of Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said the accident had “brought grief to families and dismay to the country.”
Authorities have not yet determined the cause of the crash, but eyewitnesses reported that the braking system of the cable-hauled funicular may have failed, causing it to speed down the steep street and collide with a building.
Lisbon prosecutors, police, and the transport accident investigation department have launched an official probe into the crash.
The city’s public transport operator, Carris, stated that it had followed “all maintenance protocols,” including interim maintenance last year and regular weekly and monthly inspections. The company expressed that it is “very sorry about what happened” and has initiated its own internal investigation.
What is a funicular?
A funicular is a type of railway system that allows travel up and down steep slopes. The two cars on the Glória funicular are powered by electric motors. They are attached to opposite ends of a haulage cable, meaning that as one travels downhill, its weight lifts the other, allowing them to ascend and descend simultaneously.
The bright yellow Glória funicular is one of the most famous tourist attractions in Lisbon. It was opened in 1885 and electrified three decades later. The historic vehicles are a crucial part of a city as hilly as Lisbon. They snake their way up many of the cobbled streets.
The one that crashed travels some 275 m (900 ft) from Restauradores Square in downtown Lisbon up to Bairro Alto—or high neighborhood—taking just three minutes to make the journey.
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