Lisbon Tragedy: 17 Dead in Tourist Tram Derailment

LISBON, Portugal — The death toll from a popular tourist tram derailment in Lisbon rose to 17 on Thursday. Two of the injured died in hospital. Rescue officials said the cause of the accident was not yet known.

Margarida Castro Martinez, head of Lisbon’s municipal security department, confirmed that all the dead were adults, but declined to release their names or nationalities so that their families could be notified. She said 21 people were also injured in the accident, including men and women aged between 24 and 65, as well as a three-year-old child. In addition to Portuguese nationals, the injured were from Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Canada, Morocco, South Korea and Cape Verde.

The range of nationalities reflects the popularity of Lisbon’s 19th-century trams among tourists. The Portuguese government declared a day of national mourning, describing the incident as the capital's worst disaster in years.

Testimonies from tourists and eyewitnesses
Felicity Freeter, a 70-year-old British tourist staying at a hotel near the scene of the accident, heard a "terrible crash." "We were supposed to be on the same tram tomorrow. It could have been us," she said. She praised the speed of the rescue services, adding: "The police and ambulances arrived immediately."

The yellow and white tram, called the Elevador da Gloria, overturned on a narrow street and its metal body was crushed after hitting a building on a bend in the track. Francesca Di Bello, a 23-year-old Italian tourist who had been on the same tram just hours before the accident, said she would never ride another vehicle like it after seeing the mangled wreckage.

The Portuguese Transport Workers' Union said that André Marques, a tram brakeman, was among the victims.

Technical Investigations
The vehicle is essentially an electric funicular that runs on steel cables and can carry more than 40 passengers. Forensic experts worked around the clock on the victims' autopsies, and the injured were taken to various hospitals.

The Portuguese criminal police also examined the tracks and the wreckage of the tram. Although the exact cause has not yet been determined, brake failure or a cable rupture are among the hypotheses put forward. One witness to the incident said: "The tram crumbled like a cardboard box; it seemed that there was no control over the brakes."

The accident occurred around 6 p.m., as traffic was starting to get heavy. Rescue workers were able to remove all the victims from the wreckage within two hours.

Service suspension and response
The Elevador da Glória tram, which has been operating between the Restauradores Square and the historic Bairro Alto district since 1885 and is listed as a national monument, has also been suspended by the Lisbon City Council for an immediate investigation.

The company that operates the lines, Caris, expressed its condolences to the families and stressed that all necessary measures would be taken to find out the cause of the accident.

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas described the incident as an “unprecedented tragedy.” The government said in a statement: “This heartbreaking incident has claimed many lives, left families in mourning and plunged the Portuguese nation into grief.”

In solidarity with the incident, EU flags in Brussels were flown at half-mast, and European leaders expressed their condolences to the Portuguese people in separate messages.

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