Death toll in Lisbon tram crash disaster climbs to 17 as distressing footage shows rescuers shouting ‘there’s kids under there’ after hearing cries for help from wreckage

At least seventeen people have died after Lisbon’s famous Elevador da Glória tram derailed and crashed into a building on Wednesday evening.

Twenty-three people were injured, and two of them died during the night, Margarida Castro Martins, head of Lisbon’s Civil Protection Agency, told reporters today.

She didn’t provide the names or nationalities of the dead, saying that their families would be informed first.

Twenty-one people injured in the crash were still among the casualties on Thursday as Portugal entered a period of national mourning.

Emergency services said that at least 11 foreign nationals were injured in the Lisbon derailment.

It was not immediately clear whether British tourists were on board at the time of the collision.

An FCDO spokesperson told the Daily Mail this morning: ‘We are aware of this incident in Lisbon and are in touch with the local authorities.

‘We stand by to provide consular assistance if there are any affected British nationals.’

The tragedy struck when a cable came loose along the railway’s route, sending the tram hurtling down a steep hill before it smashed into a building just after 6pm.

Dramatic video showed brave locals sprinting through clouds of dust toward the crumpled wreckage, hoping to pull survivors from the debris.

In the panic, one witness can be heard shouting ‘there are kids under the tram’ as the screams of children thought to be trapped beneath the rubble ring out.

Further footage from the site showed emergency responders pulling victims from the mangled tram-like funicular, which shuttles people up and down a hillside in the Portuguese capital.

In one striking image, firefighters are seen carrying an injured person away on a stretcher as stunned bystanders look on.

Brazilian tourist Marta Assunçao explained how she nearly took the route on which the tram crashed – meaning if she had made a different call she could have been on board.

‘Someone suggested me to take this tram, I don’t know how you call it, but I was very tired and I went home, and then I started hearing the noise of the sirens and realised what had happened, this sadness,’ she told reporters.

Witnesses said the building the funicular smashed into is a hotel, and that victims were knocked unconscious following the impact of the crash.

One said: ‘The police took less than five minutes to arrive and told us to get back and the first ambulances started arriving five minutes later.

‘One of the victims I saw was cut all over the place and covered in blood. A lot of people appeared to be unconscious.’

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 passengers jumping out of its windows and people shouting.

Witness Teresa d’Avo told Portuguese TV channel SIC: ‘It crashed into a building with brutal force and fell apart like a cardboard box.

‘It crashed with tremendous force. It didn’t have any kind of brakes.’

Speaking to Observador, Teresa explained how she had been next to the Glória elevator with a colleague when ‘the elevator that was further down, almost parking, suffered a small jolt’.

‘The people inside were obviously scared, and we rushed to help. Soon after, we saw the elevator upstairs was out of control, without brakes, and we all started running away because we thought it was going to hit the one below. 

‘But it fell around the bend and crashed into the building,’ she added. 

An official from Portugal’s National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM) has said that among the 23 people injured, five are serious and 13 are minor.

Tiago Augusto, head of the Event Planning, State Protocol, and Crisis Management Unit (UPPEC) at INEM, has confirmed that all victims of the derailment have now been removed from the funicular.

They added that a three-year-old German child has been left wounded following the accident, but is not in serious condition. The child’s pregnant mother, however, is in critical condition, reports Observador.

Officials are yet to say if any British or Irish nationals are among the fatalities or the injured.

But sources at the INEM emergency medical services provider said the dead did include ‘non-Portuguese’ citizens.

Some of the injured have been taken to Lisbon’s Sao Jose Hospital and others to the city’s Santa Maria Hospital. Only two bodies had been recovered from the scene just before 8pm local time.

Some of the injuries victims have suffered reportedly include open fractures.

The first fatality has now been identified, with Correio da Manha stating the brakeman of the funicular lost his life in the incident.

André Jorge Gonçalves Marques colleagues mourned the death on social media.

‘On behalf of everyone, we send our deepest condolences to the family,’ read one post. 

Following the deadly incident, the Lisbon government has announced a national day of mourning set to take place on on Thursday. Lisbon City Council had already declared three days of municipal mourning.

A statement approved by the Council of Ministers said: ‘A tragic accident involving the Ascensor da Glória, in the municipality of Lisbon, on September 3, 2025, caused the irreparable loss of human lives, which left their families in mourning and the country in shock.

‘The government has decided to declare a day of national mourning as an expression of the Portuguese people’s condolences and solidarity. Therefore: national mourning is declared on September 4, 2025.’

It was not immediately clear what had caused the crash.

Fernando Nunes da Silva, former Lisbon City Council member and engineering specialist, told SIC Notícias that ‘it’s most likely that the traction cable broke and when that cable broke the brakes didn’t work’.

‘The descending elevator gained momentum and continued at great speed,’ he added.

The former councilman says that these elevators ‘have a very sturdy metal structure and were built at a time when very rigid structures were highly valued’.

‘For the [elevator] to be in that condition, it had to be hit very hard,’ he notes.

And he says: ‘There is no record of the elevator having had an accident in the last few decades.’

‘Something surprising is that the brakes didn’t work because when a situation like this happens, there are devices in the vehicle that allow braking to be applied. 

‘Even if this doesn’t prevent the derailment, it could have reduced the impact,’ says Nunes da Silva.

He says he’s noticed in many situations involving government functions that ‘there’s a lack of people with a good memory and who learned from their elders’.

‘All of those people have left,’ he says.

The Elevador da Gloria did go off the rail seven years ago without causing any causalities, however.

On May 7, 2018 the train came off the tracks – but landed on cobblestones where it came to a halt without incident.

The tram was immediately taken out of service and was not put allowed back in operation for a month. 

Railway enthusiast Antonio Carloto, blamed ‘negligence’ for the lucky escape. 

President of the European Commission, Ursula Von de Leyen took to X to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in Wednesday’s incident.

‘It is with sadness that I learned of the derailment of the famous ‘Elevador da Glória’. My condolences to the families of the victims,’ she wrote.

Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, added: ‘Our hearts are with the people affected by the tragedy of the Glória Elevator, a landmark for Lisbon residents and visitors from around the world. 

‘Europe stands in solidarity with the victims, their loved ones, and the entire community in Lisbon. I wish a speedy recovery to the injured’.

The Prime Minister of Luxembourg expressed his ‘deep shock’ over the accident in Lisbon, in a post on his official X social media account, and the Israeli embassy in Portugal issued a note of condolence on social media, expressing its deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims of the tragic accident at the Elevador da Glória.

‘Our thoughts and prayers are also with the injured and with all the Portuguese people in this time of grief,’ it reads. 

The funicular railway line is capable of carrying up to 43 people and is one of three of its kind in Lisbon. 

It is very popular with tourists, who use it to navigate the city’s many steep hills, sitting on wooden benches without seatbelts as they chug through the historic town.

The line, which opened in 1885, connects Lisbon’s downtown area near the Restauradores Square with the Bairro Alto (Upper Quarter), famous for its vibrant nightlife. 

It is operated by the municipal public transport company Carris.

A Fectrans (Federation of Transport and Communications Trade Unions) executive told local media that Carris workers had previously reported problems with the tension cable, causing braking difficulties. 

But the Glória Elevator underwent maintenance between August 26 and September 30 of last year, according to local reports. Carris has also assured that ‘all maintenance protocols were carried out and respected.’

Carris president Pedro Bogas told reporters: ‘The maintenance protocol was scrupulously adhered to. This maintenance has been performed by an external company for 14 years’.

The funicular’s two cars are attached to opposite ends of a haulage cable with traction provided by electric motors on the two cars.

Although it was only electrified in 1915, it still retains its original characteristics.

The Aircraft and Railway Accident Prevention and Investigation Office (GPIAAF) will open an investigation into the derailment of the Glória elevator.

‘The GPIAAF will open an investigation [into the accident], but due to limited [human] resources in the railway area, it will only begin collecting evidence at the site tomorrow morning [Thursday],’ a source from this public body told Lusa news agency.

An FCDO Spokesperson said: ‘We are aware of this incident in Lisbon and are in touch with the local authorities. We stand by to provide consular assistance if there are any affected British nationals.’

Following the incident, the Public Security Police (PSP) sent a statement to newsrooms urging people not to approach the accident site. 

‘Security perimeters have been set up and all emergency services have been activated, with emergency corridors secured,’ the statement reads.

‘We ask the public not to travel to the Elevador da Glória area, so as not to hinder ongoing operations. Follow the instructions of the authorities on the ground. Use alternative routes and avoid traveling in the area until further notice,’ concludes the PSP. 

‘Our focus is to ensure everyone’s safety and allow the appropriate authorities to act with maximum effectiveness.’