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Portugal declares national day of mourning to remember people killed in funicular crash
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At least 16 people have died after Lisbon‘s Gloria funicular railway derailed and crashed into a building, also leaving at least 21 people injured, authorities said.
The Portuguese Prime Minister revised the death toll to 16 people, after authorities initially said 17 people had died from the crash.
Authorities have not yet identified the victims but the head of Lisbon‘s Civil Protection Agency reportedly said it involved at least 38 people from 10 nationalities.
President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa offered his condolences and solidarity to the families affected and said authorities are working to establish the cause of the incident.
Initial reports suggest the cable for the funicular came loose. Following the incident, Lisbon City Council suspended three other cable cars pending inspection.
The railway, which opened in 1885, is operated by the municipal public transport company Carris. On Wednesday night, it said “all maintenance protocols had been carried out”, including monthly and weekly maintenance programs and daily inspections.
Investigative bodies have finished assessments at the site of the crash and will publish initial findings tomorrow, Lusa reports.
“The Aircraft and Railway Accident Prevention and Investigation Office (GPIAAF), together with the Judicial Police and the Authority for Working Conditions, has completed collecting evidence at the scene,” a spokesperson said.
The office said it would outline initial findings and the the direction the investigation will takes,
City mayor Carlos Moedas earlier confirmed funicular operator Carris has been asked to open internal and external investigations.
At least 16 people have died from the crash, according to the Portuguese Prime Minister.
Luís Montenegro revised the death toll to 16 people, after authorities initially said 17 people had died from the crash.
The funicular, known as Gloria, can carry more than 40 people, seated and standing. It is commonly used by Lisbon residents.
Two carriages run parallel to each other as they shuttle up and down the hill for a few hundred metres.
It is classified as a national monument.
Lisbon hosted around 8.5 million tourists last year, and the funicular is a popular attraction.
Portugal’s Minister of Health Ana Paula Martins has visited three hospitals where at least 16 of the 23 people injured in the crash were being treated, CNN Portugal reported.
Mr Montenegro said Portugal was experiencing a “day of pain” after the crash.
He also confirmed five people remained in a critical condition.
“Today is a day of pain, no words are sufficient to heal your loss and to fill the void that has been left behind by those who have departed,” he says.
“The whole country is sharing in your grief.”
One of the centres where victims were taken at São José hospital has said four people with minor injuries, including a pregnant woman and child, has been discharged.
“Out of the five severely injured people that were admitted to the emergency department of the São José Hospital yesterday, one died, three are in controlled condition, and one is in intensive care,” they told the BBC.
It is not yet clear whether the person who died at São José hospital is one of the two victims Portuguese authorities earlier said died in hospital overnight.
The Prime Minister of Portugal, Luis Montenegro, says the prompt arrival of emergency services at the scene of the crash prevented more deaths.
“This could have been a much bigger tragedy,” he says.
Lisbon’s mayor Carlos Moedas is speaking at a press conference in the Portuguese capital.
He says that the president of Carris, which operates the funicular, has opened an independent investigation into the derailment.
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