Latest News

As the investigation into the cable car accident begins, Lisbon mourns 16 deaths

After at least 16 people died in a crash involving a popular tourist funicular, flags were flown at half mast in Lisbon. The remaining two lines have been closed while Portuguese authorities investigate the cause of accident.

Sao Jose Hospital reported that 23 people were injured and one died overnight.

The footage from the scene showed the yellow tram-like funicular that carries people up a steep hillside of the Portuguese capital lying on the ground where it had hit a building.

Eliane Chaves is a Brazilian living in Lisbon for the past 20 years. She said that she walks by the funicular each day.

National mourning has been declared. "It is really sad," she said. "People say it was negligence, but it wasn't negligence," she said. They closely supervise the process. It was an accident just as a plane crash or car accident could happen.

Manuel Leal, the leader of Fectrans, told local TV workers at the Gloria Railway - a symbol of the city – had complained of problems with the haulage cable tension on the funicular, which made braking difficult. However, it was still too early to determine if this was the cause of crash.

Carris, the municipal public transport company, said in a press release that "all maintenance protocol has been followed", including weekly and monthly maintenance programmes as well as daily inspections.

Electric motors mounted on each car counterbalance one another to provide traction.

The cable appeared to snap, and the car, which was coming down a 265 metre slope, lost its brakes, and crashed into a building on the corner.

The car in the middle of the line was thrown back several metres and appeared to be unharmed, but a video taken by passersby showed some passengers jumping from its windows.

The line that opened in 1885 connects Lisbon's downtown near Restauradores square with Bairro Alto or Upper Quarter which is famous for its vibrant evening life.

According to the city hall, the Gloria line transports approximately 3 million people each year.

The authorities did not reveal the identities of the victims, nor their nationalities. However, they said that some foreigners were among the dead.

Local media reported that the German family of three was one of the victims. The father was killed and the mother suffered serious injuries.

In the last decade, Portugal and Lisbon have seen a boom in tourism, with tourists thronging the city's downtown during the summer. (Reporting and editing by Alex Richardson, Inti landauro, Sergio Goncalves, Andrei Khalip)

(source: Reuters)