[DK06]

A horror incident in Lisbon has seen one of the city’s tourist attractions involved in a major crash that has led to at least 15 deaths.

At least 15 people are dead after a funicular cable railway went out of control and crashed in the centre of Lisbon.

A vehicle on the Portuguese capital’s famous Elevador da Glória derailed and hit a building, authorities stated.

The incident happened at around 6pm on Wednesday afternoon, local time (2am, Thursday, AEST). At least eighteen people are injured.

The SIC television channel quoted a person as saying that the funicular hit a building as it sped down the steep street “at full speed.”

“It hit a building with brutal force and collapsed like a cardboard box; it had no brakes,” the woman said.

All of the victims have been recovered from the wreckage, said Tiago Augusto, an official with the Inem emergency services, adding that the victims include foreigners.

No other details on the identity of the victims were immediately available. Images from the scene showed the yellow funicular car, which can hold around 40 passengers, overturned on a steep street, with scores of firefighters and medical personnel at the scene.

The Gloria funicular is a tram that take passengers from Lisbon’s CBD up a steep hill to the Bairro Alto neighbourhood.

Lisbon is a hilly city and several funicular railways are vital in transporting people to and from its various suburbs.

Lisbon’s Mayor Carlos Moedas said it was “a very difficult day for all of us”.

The tramway opened in 1885 and carries 3.5 million people per year.

Its history, brightly coloured vehicles and steep route through tight streets makes it a favourite subject for photographers and a symbol of the city.

It was hooked up to electricity in 1915 and undergoes general maintenance every four years, according to the website of Portugal’s national monuments.

[kellyhound]

vid

[TylerD]

I was on that 2 months ago.. Wow.
I even commented on them being so old and noisy. You're crammed in like cattle with nothing to hold on to.
Poor people

[William May]

They are connected with a cable, so one car goes down the rails, while the other goes up, so there is very little actual load. The cars are driven by electric motors that just run rubber tires that actually move them, but they are not that powerful. If you have 2 Ten Ton loads, they will balance each other pretty well. Wonder if the cable broke. Or maybe they had one car completely empty. I read today that they said that all the recent maintenance and overhaul checks were done on time and on schedule, and the safety certificate for the trolley system was up to date. Like the San Francisco Cable Cars, part of the experience is riding on something made in the century BEFORE the LAST Century. But these are even older than the San Francisco Cable Cars.

[William May]

Perhaps they were trying to put the "Funeral" in "Funicular"!

[HIGHTECHDUDE]

So there's about 33+ people packed into these rickety things?

[jsundqui]

In case the cable snaps they should have brakes too? So two things need to fail simultaneously.

[kellyhound]

At least five Portuguese, two South Koreans, and one Swiss national were killed. Police also say two Canadians, a German, a Ukrainian, and an American were likely killed, but this is not yet certain.

The identities of three people have not yet been released. Thirteen people suffered minor injuries and ten serious injuries. One of the seriously injured has since died.

Police say the scene investigation is complete and all autopsies have been performed on the bodies. The identified bodies have been released to their families.

[DarkSighted]

Funiculi Funiculaaaaaiiiiieee!!

[Cryptkeeper]

It only happens once in awhile.