A historic streetcar in Lisbon, a popular tourist attraction, derailed and crashed on Wednesday, killing 15 people and injuring 18 others, said emergency services.
Portugal’s National Institute for Medical Emergencies confirmed that five of the injured are in serious condition, with a child among those affected. Some of the victims are reportedly foreign nationals, although their identities have not been disclosed.
Authorities have labeled the incident as an accident, marking the worst such event in the city’s recent history, and it has cast a shadow over the city’s appeal for tourists. At present, the cause of the crash remains unclear, reports AP/UNB.
The accident took place with the iconic yellow-and-white streetcar, known as Elevador da Gloria, a funicular that travels up a steep hill in downtown Lisbon.
The vehicle was left lying on its side, crumpled after it crashed into a building when it careened out of control, with its mostly metal parts crushed. Eyewitnesses reported seeing the streetcar descending the hill at high speed before it toppled onto a pedestrian.
Several videos of the scene, shared on social media, show heavy smoke in the air and frantic onlookers rushing towards the wreck. Some of the passengers of an earlier streetcar on the same route are seen trying to assist the crash victims.
Carris, the company that operates the Elevador da Gloria, confirmed that the streetcar had undergone scheduled maintenance prior to the crash. It expressed deepest condolences to the families of those affected and vowed to cooperate fully with the investigation into the cause of the incident.
In response to the tragedy, the Lisbon City Council suspended all streetcar services in the city and ordered immediate safety inspections, according to local media.
President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa extended his sympathies to the victims’ families, and Portugal’s government declared Thursday as a national day-of-mourning. “A tragic accident … caused the irreparable loss of human life, which left in mourning their families and dismayed the whole country,” the government’s statement said.
Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas described the event as “a tragedy of the like we’ve never seen” while offering his condolences.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also expressed her sorrow over the crash, writing in Portuguese on X, “It is with sadness that I learned of the derailment of the famous Elevador da Gloria.”
The crash occurred just as the evening rush hour began, around 6 pm. All victims were pulled out of the wreckage in just over two hours, according to emergency officials. The investigation into the cause of the incident will begin after the completion of the rescue effort.
Foreign leaders including Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez posted that he was “appalled by the terrible accident,” while the Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani expressed his solidarity with the victims of this accident.
The US Embassy in Lisbon also posted a message on X offering its “deepest condolences to all affected.”
The technical name for a streetcar is funicular is harnessed by steel cables. The Elevador da Gloria, classified as a national monument, has been serving Lisbon residents and tourists alike since 1885. It carries more than 40 passengers along a few hundred metres, traffic-free route up a hill.
