Lisbon mourns 17 victims of cable car crash as investigation begins

4/9/2025 17:03

Flags flew at half-mast in Lisbon on Thursday after at least 17 people were killed and 21 injured in a crash of a hillside funicular railway popular with tourists, while Portuguese authorities began investigating the cause of the accident.



The city's remaining two lines were shut for inspections, authorities said.



Footage from the site showed the mangled wreckage of the yellow tram-like funicular, which carries people up and down a steep hillside in the Portuguese capital, lying where it had left the track and hit a building, just metres from another car at the bottom of the hill.



Manuel Leal, leader of the Fectrans union, told local TV that workers on the Gloria railway - one of the symbols of the city - had complained about problems with the funicular's haulage cable tension that made braking difficult, but it was too early to say if that was the cause of the crash.



The municipal public transport company Carris said in a statement that "all maintenance protocols have been carried out", including monthly and weekly maintenance programmes and daily inspections.