Lisbon funicular Elevador da Gloria derails, killing at least 15 people

Eyewitnesses told local media the streetcar careened down the hill, apparently out of control. One witness said the streetcar toppled onto a man on the pavement.

Portugal’s government announced that a day of national mourning would be observed on Thursday. “A tragic accident … caused the irreparable loss of human life, which left in mourning their families and dismayed the whole country,” the government said in a statement.

Lisbon’s City Council suspended operations of other streetcars in the city and ordered immediate inspections, local media reported.

Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas told reporters at the scene that the city was in mourning. “This was a tragic accident … It’s a tragedy of the like we’ve never seen.”

President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa offered his condolences to families affected by the tragedy.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also sent her condolences. “It is with sadness that I learnt of the derailment of the famous Elevador da Gloria,” she wrote in Portuguese on X.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote on X that he was “appalled by the terrible accident,” while Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani wrote that he had met with the Portuguese foreign minister and expressed his “solidarity with the victims.”

The US Embassy Lisbon also offered its “deepest condolences to all affected,” according to a post on X.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known. However, news reports from The New York Times and Portuguese site Observador indicated that one of the cables holding the tram may have snapped.

It reportedly occurred at the start of the evening rush hour, about 6pm Lisbon time. Emergency officials said all the victims were pulled out of the wreckage in just over two hours.

Police investigators were inspecting the site with a formal investigation, as is customary in public transport accidents, to be opened. Carris, the company that operates the streetcar, said scheduled maintenance had been carried out.

The Gloria line connects Lisbon’s downtown area near the Restauradores Square with the Bairro Alto (Upper Quarter), famous for its vibrant nightlife.

It is one of three funicular lines operated by Carris and is popular with both tourists and residents.

Known in Portugal as the Elevador da Gloria, the funicular is powered by electric motors, with two streetcars running parallel to each other as they shuttle up and down the hill on a curved, traffic-free road for a few hundred metres.

The car at the bottom of the line was apparently undamaged, but video from bystanders aired by CNN Portugal showed it jolting violently when the other one derailed, with several of its passengers jumping from its windows and people shouting.

Lisbon hosted about 8.5 million tourists last year, with the streetcars among the city’s most popular attractions. Long lines of tourists typically form for a brief ride on it. The Gloria line transports about 3 million people annually, and is also popular with Lisbon residents.

The streetcars can carry more than 40 people at a time, seated and standing. The line opened in 1885 and is classified as a national monument.

AP, Reuters