Portuguese investigators have confirmed that a snapped cable triggered Wednesday’s fatal funicular disaster in Lisbon, though the rest of the railway’s system appeared to be intact.
“After examining the wreckage at the site, it was immediately determined that the cable connecting the two carriages had given way,” the national transport safety office said in a statement, reports BBC.
According to the findings, the brakeman attempted to halt the descent by engaging emergency brakes but could not stop the crash. The upper carriage of the historic Glória funicular careened off the tracks and smashed into a nearby building, killing 16 people and injuring around 20.
Authorities identified the victims as five Portuguese, along with three from the UK, two from South Korea, two Canadians, an American, a Ukrainian, a Swiss, and a French national.
The 140-year-old funicular, famous for climbing Lisbon’s steep hills, is both a vital means of transport for locals and a draw for visitors.
The report noted that the operator engaged both pneumatic and manual brakes when the cable broke, though it remains uncertain whether an automatic safety brake responded.
At the time of impact, the carriage was moving at roughly 60km/h (37mph), investigators said. The document added that the failed cable had only been in service for 337 days, well short of its expected 600-day lifespan.
Officials have yet to determine how many of the victims were inside the carriage, which can accommodate about 40 passengers, and how many were on the street at the moment of the collision. Six injured people are in intensive care, while three others suffered lighter wounds.
The transport safety office emphasised that they have not drawn “valid conclusions” about the cause of the accident and plan to release a more detailed preliminary report within 45 days.
Prime Minister Luis Montenegro called the catastrophe “one of the biggest tragedies of our recent past.”
