Portugal will hold a day of national mourning on Thursday after a funicular train derailed in Lisbon, killing at least 15 people in one of the capital’s most popular tourist spots.
The accident on Wednesday saw the yellow Gloria funicular veer off a steep stretch of tracks near Liberty Avenue and crash into a building.
Rescuers said a further 18 people were injured. The victims, including some foreigners, have all been recovered from the wreckage, according to the emergency services.
Footage showed police and rescue personnel working into the night around the mangled funicular lying on its side against a wall of the street.
A woman interviewed by the SIC television channel said the train, which can hold about 40 people, struck the building “with brutal force and collapsed like a cardboard box.”
Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas called the incident “a tragedy that our city has never seen.”
Pictures shared on social media showed the moments right after the accident, with the funicular coming out of smoke and debris, completely crashed against a wall.
Following the tragedy, several politicians, including Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, expressed their sorrow and extended condolences to the victims and their families.
