declared a day of national mourning on Thursday, a day after one of in the capital city, leaving 17 people dead and 21 injured.
The Gloria funicular — a yellow railway car which travels up and down a steep slope in central Lisbon — swerved off its tracks near Avenida da Liberdade and crashed into a building on Wednesday.
Authorities deemed the accident the worst in the city’s recent history.
Portugal’s National Institute for Medical Emergencies said five of the 18 people injured in the incident were in serious condition.
Officials added that they had not yet established the nationalities of those killed or injured in the accident.
Lisbon grieves funicular accident victims
The incident occurred at the start of the evening rush hour, around 6 p.m. local time and victims were reported to have been pulled out of the wreckage in just over two hours.
Visuals circulated on social media throughout the night of rescuers working around the damaged funicular, which was seen flipped on its side against a wall on the street.
President Marcelo Rebelo said Lisbon was in mourning.
“It’s a tragedy of the like we’ve never seen,” he said.
Prime Minister Luis Montenegro’s office said the accident had “brought grief to… families and dismay to the country.”
Lisbon’s Patriarch Rui Valerio said he was shocked at the crash, wished the injured a speedy recovery, expressed “his solidarity with their families” and thanked rescue teams for their efforts.
Authorities launch investigation
Meanwhile, a probe into the cause of the accident is ongoing.
Carris, the company that operates the streetcar, said scheduled maintenance had been conducted on the funicular.
“Everything was scrupulously respected,” Pedro Bogas, the head of Lisbon Carris, said at the site of the crash.
Lisbon’s City Council halted operations of other streetcars in the city and ordered immediate inspections, according to local media reports.
The Gloria first went into service in 1885. It shuttles commuters between an area of downtown Lisbon near Restauradores Square and Bairro Alto (Upper Quarter), famous for its bustling nightlife.
Edited by: Sean Sinico
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