The derailment of one of Lisbon’s popular funicular has become one of the most tragic accidents recorded in the Portuguese capital in recent years by causing the death of 15 people and injuries to 18 people, including two Spaniards, as confirmed by the Foreign Ministry of Spain. The National Medical Emergency Institute (INEM) has also reported that five of the injured are serious. This elevator, which connects the Plaza de los Restauradores, in the lower part of the Portuguese capital, with the Alto neighborhood, is a means of transport widely used by tourists, which usually form long lines to access the elevator, with capacity for 43 passengers. The Spain Foreign Ministry has confirmed that two of the injured are Spanish citizens, according to Europa Press.
The accident occurred at 18.05 (local time) near the Plaza de los Restauradores. The injured have been transferred to three hospitals in Lisbon (Santa María, San José and San Francisco Javier), including a child under three years. The images show the funicular waste after ramming a building in the Gloria Calzada, which made anticipating the impact of the tragedy.
A witness of the incident declared the SIC chain that he observed the transport of “unbridled” by the pronounced costs where he circulates to collide against a property. “He crashed with a brutal force in a building and got rid of like a cardboard box, he had no brake,” said the woman.
In a statement, the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, laments “deeply” the accident and expresses his regret for the existence of “fatalities” and “serious injuries”, although he also does not concrete figures. In another note, the Prime Minister’s cabinet, Luís Montenegro, also expressed his solidarity with those affected and announced that investigations will be carried out to clarify the causes of the accident. The Judicial Police moved a few hours after the event to a team to the area to begin investigating the origin of derailment.
“Lisbon is mourning,” said the mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, who moved within a few hours to the place of the event. The Portuguese government decreed an official day of mourning for this Thursday, which will rise to three in the capital where the incident has been recorded.
In shared images on the social network X, you can see how the funicular is in the lower part of a street and a group of people tries to lower in the middle of a great smoke. Fire and Civil Protection teams worked several hours at the scene to try to rescue bodies from victims and survivors.
The Glory Elevator derailed and fell this Wednesday, next to Avenida da Liberdade, in Lisbon. According to Sapadors firefighters, the accident caused “many victims”, including serious injuries.
– Living World (@mundo__Vivo)
The elevator of glory was declared a National Monument in 2002 and is one of those preserved from the list of old funicular who operated in Lisbon to try to save the blunt slopes of the city. It is not the first accident that is recorded in the elevatorwhich unites a real prince with the Plaza de los Restauradores, very close to Avenida de La Libertad, which closed to traffic after the accident. On May 7, 2018, another incident was recorded due to a failure in the maintenance services of the funicular, although it resulted without causing victims.
In August 2022, the public company of Transportes Carris outsourced the maintenance service of the four elevators of the city for one million euros (Gloria, Santa Justa, Lavra and Bica), after convening a public tender, which won the company Main. The workers had complained several times about the “poor maintenance” of the concessionaire in the elevator of glory, according to the newspaper Public.
The company, on the contrary, argued in a statement that the monthly and weekly maintenance programs had been “scrupulously”, in addition to the daily inspection. The company reported that maintenance protocols had been respected and that the general review had been carried out in 2022, followed by another intermediate inspection in 2024. The transport company has opened an investigation to determine the causes of the accident.
