Derailing a popular streetcar in the Portuguese capital killed 17 people and injured 21 people. Emergency services saidwhat authorities have called one of Lisbon’s worst tragedies in recent memory.
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Ongoing investigation
Official details of crash Thursday morning was still lacking. Authorities called Wednesday’s derailment an accident, but the government said an investigation was underway.
Witnesses told local media that the tram looked out of control as the hill was knocked down around 6pm during evening rush hour. One witness said the tram had collapsed by a man on the sidewalk.
The sides and top of the yellow and white tram known as the Elevedor da Gloria were crumpled, appearing to have crashed into a curved building.
Carris, the company that operates the tram, said the scheduled maintenance was undertaken.
Authorities refused to speculate whether the brakes were broken or the snapped cable could have caused the derailment.
The death toll will rise
Margarida Castro Martins, Lisbon’s Civil Protection Agency Commissioner, told reporters Thursday. The death toll revised upwards from Wednesday night included two people who were in hospital care. She did not provide their name or nationality.
An additional 21 people were injured in the crash, officials said. They included Portuguese nationals and two Germans, two Spanish and one from France, Italy, Switzerland, Canada, Morocco, Korea and Cape Verde.
President Marcelo Rebello de Souza expressed his sadness for the affected families, and Lisbon Mayor Carlos Modus said the city is in mourning.
“It’s a tragedy we’ve never seen,” Modus said.
The sadness of the nation
Portugal was observing a national mourning day on Thursday.
“The tragic accident has caused irreparable losses of human lives, mourning families and disappointing the nation,” the government said in a statement.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also expressed her sadness.
“It was sad to learn that the famous Elevedor da Gloria was derailed,” she wrote in X in Portuguese.
140 years of service
Trams, technically known as performance, are utilized with steel cables, and descending vehicles help to help lift other vehicles with their weight. It can carry over 40 people sitting and standing. The service, located up and down the hill on a curved, traffic-free road, was launched in 1885.
It is classified as a national monument and attracts many of the millions of tourists who visit Lisbon every year. People usually wait in long queues for short rides.
