At least 17 died and 21 others were injured after Lisbon’s renowned Gloria funicular railway derailed on Wednesday evening, shrouding the Portuguese capital in darkness.
There were 38 on board when the tram-like carriage went out of control on the precipitous 265-metre incline, derailing on a curve by hitting an adjoining building. Rescuers removed the twisted wreckage to evacuate the corpses and survivors as the city’s flags went at half-mast.
“Fifteen died on the site, but two others died during the night at the hospital,” confirmed Lisbon emergency services boss Margarida Martins. The victims included foreigners as well as Portuguese: four Portuguese, two German, two Spanish, one Canadian, one Cape Verde, one Italian, one French, one Swiss, one German family with an Italian parent not among the victims, one Moroccan.
Among victims was the German family-of-three: the father died, the mom seriously injured, but their three-year-old toddler coped with minimal hurt.
Despite insisting on the maintenance checks on the tram-like carriage all to be up-to-date, Transport Union boss Manuel Leal acknowledged that technicians prior to the incident raised concern with issues with the stress on the cables which would have an effect on braking.
The probe so far suggests the haulage rope broke, taking the carriage brakeless prior to the derailment.
The city’s Carris insisted on the comprehensive maintenance procedures all undertaken with daily, weekly, monthly checks.
First revealed during the year 1885, the Gloria funicular happens to be among the oldest but most appealing attractions in Lisbon, linking Restauradores Square with the nightlife district in the Bairro Alto. Servicing near to three million people on an annual basis.
Witnesses cited the accident as “shocking yet heartbreaking.” Brazilian resident Eliane Chaves broke down crying when she told journalists: “It was not negligence. They check on it thoroughly. This was an accident, just as is the plane or the road accident.”
The government has established the full inquiry on the cause of the tragedy.
