What we understand about the fatal accident

A carriage on one of Lisbon’s most iconic tourist attractions, the Glória funicular railway derailed and crashed on Wednesday. The popular tram-like form of transport is designed to travel up and down steep slopes.

Portuguese authorities have confirmed 16 people were killed, revising an earlier figure which put the death toll at 17.

It is not yet clear what caused the carriage to derail, but local media reports say a cable fault is suspected.

An investigation into the cause of the accident is under way.

Here is everything we know so far.

The carriage derailed at around 18:15 (17:15 GMT) on Wednesday 3 September, near the city’s Avenida da Liberdade boulevard.

More than 60 rescue personnel and 22 vehicles were deployed to the scene.

Officials say it is too early to determine what caused the crash, but Portuguese newspaper Observador reports that a cable came loose along the railway’s route, causing it to lose control and collide with a building.

As smoke engulfed the area, people could be seen running away from the scene.

Images and footage show an overturned, crumpled yellow carriage lying on the cobblestone street, surrounded by emergency responders.

Some people were trapped in the wreckage, and had to be freed by emergency workers.

Tour guide Marianna Figueiredo witnessed the crash and was amongst those who tried to rescue people.

“People started to jump from the windows inside the funicular at the bottom of the hill,” she told the BBC.

“Then I saw another one [further up] that was already crushed. I started to climb the hill to help the people but when I got there the only thing I could hear was silence.”

She said what she witnessed yesterday evening was “very difficult to describe”. “It was very bad. A big tragedy.”

Emergency services gave a death toll of 17 on Thursday but Prime Minister Luís Montenegro later said 16 were dead.

Reports in Portugal have attributed the mistake in the death toll to a duplicate registration of a victim at one hospital.

Exact information on who was riding the funicular at the time – and who may have been injured on the street – remains unclear but at least 20 people have been injured.

Those taken to hospital include four Portuguese, two Germans, two Spaniards, one Cape Verdean, one Canadian, one Italian, one French person, one Swiss, one Moroccan and one Korean, the city’s Municipal Civil Protection Service was quoted as saying by Portugal’s Lusa news agency.

André Jorge Gonçalves Marques, an employee of the city’s public transport operator, Carris, is among the dead.

“In his 15 years with Carris, he performed his duties with excellency,” the company said.

Portuguese media is reporting that a three-year-old child is being treated in one of Lisbon’s hospitals, while the child’s mother, who is pregnant, has been transferred to a maternity unit.

The Glória funicular can carry about 40 passengers and is extremely popular with tourists but it is also crucial for the city’s residents, to help them travel up and down Lisbon’s hilly streets.

It is not known how many people were onboard at the time of the crash, however.

A funicular is a type of railway system that allows travel up and down steep slopes, and in Lisbon, they are a crucial means of navigating the city’s steep, cobbled streets.

The city’s funicular railways – Glória, Lavra, Bica and Graça – are a popular tourist attraction, as the bright yellow tram-like vehicles snake through the often-narrow, hilly streets.

Glória was opened in 1885 and electrified three decades later.

It travels some 275m (900ft) from Restauradores, a central city square, up to the picturesque streets of Bairro Alto. The journey takes just three minutes.

The two carriages on the Glória route are attached to opposite ends of a haulage cable which is pulled by electric motors.

As one carriage travels downhill, its weight lifts the other, allowing them to ascend and descend simultaneously, reducing the energy need.

The second, intact carriage could be seen just metres from the wreckage at the bottom of the hill.

Expressing regret for the crash, Carris said it had opened an investigation “to determine the causes of this accident”.

The company said in a statement that it had complied with “all maintenance protocols”:

• General maintenance took place every four years and was last carried out in 2022

• Interim repairs were made every two years, the last of which took place in 2024

• Monthly and weekly maintenance programmes and daily inspections were also “scrupulously complied with”

“Everything was scrupulously respected,” company head Pedro Bogas said separately, adding that maintenance of the funiculars had been carried out by a contractor for the past 14 years.

“We have strict protocols, excellent professionals for many years, and we need to get to the bottom of what happened,” he added.

The country was observing a national day of mourning on Thursday while Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas declared three days of mourning in the capital.

Posting on X, Moedas said: “I extend my heartfelt condolences to all the families and friends of the victims. Lisbon is in mourning.”

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said he “deeply” regretted the “fatalities and serious injuries” caused by the crash.

Pedro Sánchez, prime minster of neighbouring Spain, said he was “appalled by the terrible accident”.

“All our affection and solidarity with the families of the victims and with the Portuguese people in this difficult moment,” he wrote in a statement on X.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sent her “condolences to the families of the victims”.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Fabiana Pavel, who is president of a Lisbon residents’ association, said her community was shocked.

She said the funicular is an important means of public transportation for those who live in Bairro Alto, “especially for people with reduced mobility as it allows them to easily climb a steep hill”.

“At the time of the accident there may have been parents with children returning from school.”

Ms Pavel added that the cable car is used disproportionately by tourists, leaving locals unable to use the service as a means of transport “because it has become a tourist attraction”.

Flags outside the European Parliament in Brussels have been flying at half mast to mark Portugal’s day of mourning.

“The tragic accident on the Elevador da Gloria has shaken Europe deeply,” Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament, posted on X.