Lisbon Funicular Crash Death Toll rises to 16 as the elevator disaster gives glory leaves Portugal staggering

Lisbon – Portugal staggered on Thursday morning following an unprecedented disaster in the heart of its capital city. Sixteen people were killed on Wednesday afternoon when one of the characteristic of the electric trams of Lisbon, the elevator gives glory, funicular – He got rid of his footprints and crashed into a building.

The funicular, a type of tram generally located at a permanent angle to run through a hill or mountain, has taken people about 270 meters up and down a hill in the center of Lisbon for more than a century. It is very popular among tourists, and News said that approximately half of the 21 people injured in the accident were foreign visitors.

The Reuters news agency said emergency services had confirmed that three other funicular in Lisbon were experiencing additional security controls on Thursday after the fatal accident.

Margarida Castro Martins, who runs the Lisbon Civil Protection Agency, told journalists that two people who were hospitalized after the accident on Wednesday night had died, carrying the number of deaths to 17, but the agency corrected that figure later on Thursday, citing a duplication of information earlier in the day, according to The News.

The authorities have not published the names of the victims, but rescuers have said that there were foreign citizens among those killed.

The Portuguese president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, offered condolences to the affected families, and the mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, said the city would be mourning for three days.

“It is a tragedy of similar that we have never seen,” said Moedas.

“A tragic accident … caused the irreparable loss of human life, which showed their families and dismayed the entire country,” said the national government in a statement, declaring a national day of grieving on Thursday.

This tram was still a lot of wrinkled metal surrounded by police laces on Thursday. In general, it would be full of visitors at this time of year.

When the smoke cleared over the remains on Wednesday, he revealed the scene in which the famous elevator gives glory had loaded about 800 feet for the steep hill that has crossed for about 140 years before derailing in a curve and crashed into a building.

Some spectators rushed to help after the accident, but others fled for fear of noise and chaos.

“All we could do was turn and run,” said a man who saw the accident.

“It is a tragic situation, truly tragic,” said another local resident, Carla Gomes, to the French News news agency.

For many tourists who visit Lisbon, a trip on the iconic tram is a must. Millions of people make the trip of approximately four minutes every year.

The elevator gives glory operates in the same way as the functions of the hillside throughout Europe and in other places, with two united cars at the opposite ends of a circular cable, as a car goes up, the other low. The Lisbon funicular works with engines in each car, which work with electricity delivered through separate higher cables.

Local reports have speculated that the main cable may have been broken, although officials have not commented on the reports.

Cable and brakes are two of the most common causes of tram accidents.

Speaking to News themezone, the president of the Portuguese Order of the Engineers, Almeis Santos, said that the accident seemed to be caused by the rupture of the cable.

“It is very strange … for this type of cable. It is not normal and it is almost impossible to have [a] sudden break, “he said.

Santos continued to suggest that the sudden rupture of the cable would not be sufficient for manual or automatic brakes that were present to contain approximately 20 tons of highway weight and passengers.

Carris, the company that operates the elevator gives glory, has said that regular inspections, including daily controls, have been carried out as necessary.

An investigation is now underway in the disaster, which has destroyed the charm of the quiet European capital.

• Travel
• Portugal
• Lisbon
• European Union