Lisbon funicular derailment kills 19, injures 21

A popular tourist funicular in Lisbon derailed on Wednesday evening and crashed into a building, killing 19 people and injuring 21 others. The cause of the accident remains unclear. Emergency teams worked throughout the evening and night at the scene while investigators searched for answers. TV channel SIC reported, citing an eyewitness, that the funicular “raced down the steep street at full speed” before colliding with a building.

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Carris, the company operating public transport in Lisbon, stated that “all maintenance protocols” had been followed. The general maintenance, required every four years, was completed in 2022, and the biennial intermediate maintenance took place in 2024. The “Gloria” funicular was inaugurated in 1885 and connected to the power grid in 1915.

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Among the injured, at least 11 foreigners: two Germans, two Spaniards, a French woman, an Italian, a Swiss, and one person each from Canada, Korea, Morocco, and Cape Verde. Margarida Castro from the city’s Civil Protection Service said that two people died overnight from their injuries. She did not release the identities of the deceased, and details on the nationalities of those killed are expected to be provided later.

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The German Foreign Ministry in Berlin confirmed that German citizens are among the victims. “Unfortunately, German nationals are also among those affected,” the Ministry said on Thursday. The German embassy in Lisbon is “closely coordinating with local authorities” to clarify the identities of the victims.

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A national day of mourning was declared by the government throughout Portugal on Thursday. "Our thoughts are with the victims of this tragic funicular accident," the German Foreign Ministry added.

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