A funicular tragedy in Lisbon claimed the lives of three Britons while the debris was cleared away

As the debris is removed from the Lisbon funicular tragedy, three Britons are among the deceased.

As the twisted debris was taken away for more examination to determine the accident’s cause, Portuguese police said on Friday that three Britons were among the 16 people killed in a funicular train collision in Lisbon.

Lisbon’s tourism economy, which relies on historic landmarks like the 140-year-old Gloria train, is in danger of losing faith as a result of a catastrophe that Prime Minister Luis Montenegro called one of the worst in the country’s recent history. Five Portuguese nationals, three Britons, two South Koreans, two Canadians, and one each from France, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United States are now on the list of fatalities that police revised after coroners discovered additional bodies.

No identities or other information was made public. Over 20 people suffered injuries.
According to police, a German national who was thought to be dead was actually alive in a hospital. According to the local media, a German father had passed away, a mother was gravely injured, and their 3-year-old child had sustained minor wounds.

At least three German citizens were hospitalized, according to the German Foreign Ministry. Portuguese police said it will take six weeks to finish a preliminary report on the disaster. Police sources informed the Publico daily that there were no indications of foul play, but they do not rule out any potential cause.

The twin of the wrecked car at the base of the steep 265-meter slope was also taken out and will be examined by specialists. Electric motors power the rope that connects the two vehicles, which can each accommodate around 40 passengers. The cars alternately climb and descend the incline, with one assisting to pull the other up.

Two specialists who analyzed the camera footage and were consulted by Reuters claim that the traction cable broke, perhaps at or close to the connection to the bottom of the higher car.
The carriage plowed into the cobblestone pavement and collided with a building after entering a tight bend in the street too quickly, seemingly unable to control its descent.

According to Carris, the municipal transport firm, “all maintenance protocols have been carried out,” including daily inspections, weekly and monthly maintenance, and the most recent inspection, which was conducted just hours before the tragedy and found no flaws.

“We cannot assume that the problem was with the cable,” Carris CEO Pedro Bogas said on Thursday .The line connects Lisbon’s downtown area near the Restauradores Square with the Bairro Alto and transports around 3 million people a year.