Lisbon’s double miracle: Father feared dead in funicular crash found alive after toddler son rescued from wreckage
The father of a German toddler who was miraculously pulled from the wreckage of the funicular crash in Lisbon has been found alive – after his family was told he may be dead.
Local media had initially reported that the German national had died in front of his son in the crash which killed 16 people on Wednesday evening.
The family of the man, from Hamburg, reportedly went to the Institute of Forensic Medicine on Thursday in search of the father’s body – but they were unable to identify him.
CNN Portugal reported that the family showed a photo of the man to a local police officer, who took them to the São José hospital. He was found alive but “in a very bad state”, a spokesperson for the Portuguese police told The Independent.
The police spokesperson said that they believed the body belonged to the German father as it matched a physical description given by the man’s family.
They said: “We didn’t say that this person was dead, we received information, and we pointed (out) that there was a possibility of one German citizen (being) dead, but with no total confirmation.”
After the German man was confirmed alive, a DNA test was performed, which revealed that the deceased man was not German.
The boy’s mother is in a critical but stable condition at Santa Maria hospital, according to CNN Portugal.
The Foreign Ministry in Berlin told German media: “As far as the Federal Foreign Office is aware, there are currently no German citizens among the fatalities.”
Three British nationals are among the 16 people who died when the Gloria funicular derailed and crashed in Lisbon, Portuguese police have said.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he is “deeply saddened” to hear that three British nationals died in the crash, Downing Street said.
“His thoughts are with their families and those affected by this terrible incident. We stand united with Portugal during this difficult time,” a spokesperson said.
The funicular, which travels up and down a steep downtown hill in Portugal’s capital, crashed near Avenida da Liberdade just after 6pm, injuring at least 21 people.
Portugal’s judicial police confirmed on Friday that nationals of Portugal, South Korea, Switzerland, Canada, Ukraine, the US and France were also among the dead.
