Portuguese authorities have confirmed that three British citizens were among the 16 fatalities from Wednesday’s catastrophic funicular crash in Lisbon. The tram-like Elevador da Glória, a popular tourist attraction, reportedly lost its cable and sped downhill before smashing into a hotel, leaving the carriage almost completely destroyed.
Officials disclosed on Friday that the victims included five Portuguese nationals, two South Koreans, one Swiss, three British, two Canadians, one Ukrainian, one American, and one French citizen. At least 21 others were injured, five critically. Nearly half of the dead were foreign visitors.
Prime Minister Luís Montenegro called the collision “one of the biggest tragedies of our recent past,” as multiple agencies launched investigations into the causes of the disaster.
Five of the Portuguese victims have been named, including André Marques, the 40-year-old brakeman who died at his post, and three employees of Lisbon’s largest charity, Santa Casa da Misericórdia: Alda Matias, Ana Lopes, and Sandra Coelho. Pedro Trinidade, a referee from Portugal’s volleyball association, also perished.
Identification of the dead has been hampered by the condition of the bodies. Francisco Corte-Real, head of Portugal’s National Institute of Legal Medicine, said that while fingerprints were used where possible, investigators often had to rely on dental records or DNA, particularly for foreign victims. Thirty-seven forensic specialists worked overnight to accelerate the process.
In a rare stroke of good news, authorities clarified on Friday that a German man initially listed among the dead had in fact survived. He was pulled from the wreckage along with his three-year-old son, who suffered only minor injuries; the man’s pregnant wife remains hospitalized.
The Elevador da Glória carries about 3 million passengers a year along a steep 275-metre track in central Lisbon. Each of its two 40-passenger cars is linked to the other by a cable so they operate as counterweights. Witnesses said one of the cars derailed, sped downhill and slammed into the hotel on a bend. Police removed the wreckage Thursday night for examination after a day of national mourning.
An initial technical report from the government’s Office for Air and Rail Accident Investigations was expected on Friday. So far, no evidence of sabotage has emerged; mechanical or maintenance failures remain the leading theories. Carris, the public transport company operating the line, insists all safety and inspection protocols — daily, weekly and monthly — had been followed.
