Lisbon is reeling after a devastating funicular crash killed at least 16 people and injured more than 20 others, with survivors describing scenes of chaos and trauma in the Portuguese capital.
Among the dead are nationals from Portugal, South Korea, Switzerland, Canada, Germany and Ukraine.
One of the few moments of relief came when rescuers pulled a three-year-old German boy alive from the wreckage. His father reportedly died in the crash, while his mother is among those hospitalised.
The accident happened on Wednesday evening when a carriage on the city’s famous Gloria funicular derailed near Avenida da Liberdade and smashed into a building.
Police have yet to confirm the cause, though local media reported that a cable may have come loose along the steep route.
Witnesses described a harrowing scene. Tour guide Mariana Figueiredo, who rushed to the site within seconds, said she saw passengers jumping from windows in panic.
“I started to climb the hill to help the people but when I got there the only thing I could hear was silence,” she told the BBC. “We pulled the roof off and saw dead bodies inside. A lot of people were crying around me.”
Others spoke of narrow escapes. Two Singaporean tourists said they had planned to ride the funicular that day but changed their plans at the last minute.
“It’s scary… Who knows, we might have been on this one,” one said.
At a memorial service held at the Church of St Dominic on Thursday night, Portugal’s political leaders joined families and residents in mourning.
President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa expressed “sympathy and solidarity with the families affected”, while European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen offered condolences.
The city’s public transport operator, Carris, said all funiculars would remain closed pending inspections. Pedro Gonçalo de Brito Aleixo Bogas, the company’s head, confirmed that the Gloria line would reopen only once a new carriage was introduced.
“We have increased spending on maintenance, but the costs have more than doubled in the past 10 years,” he said.
The dead include four employees of Santa Casa da Misericórdia, a Lisbon charity whose staff frequently used the funicular for commuting. Brake guard André Jorge Gonçalves Marques was also among those killed.
