Portuguese authorities have confirmed the nationalities of the 16 victims who lost their lives in the devastating funicular crash. According to the Judiciary Police, the victims include five Portuguese citizens, three British, two South Koreans, two Canadians, and one each from Switzerland, Ukraine, the United States, and France. The scientific identification was carried out in cooperation with the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences.
Lisbon is still in shock after the tragic accident on September 3 left 16 people dead and 23 others injured. The historic Gloria funicular derailed and crashed into a building. The 140-year-old cable-powered railway, one of the capital’s most popular tourist attractions, went off track around 18:05 local time.
Rescue teams worked late into the night, pulling passengers from the debris. Investigations are underway by Portugal’s transport safety authority, the criminal police, and Carris, the public operator of Lisbon’s funiculars. The company said the Gloria had passed all required maintenance and routine inspections. Witnesses reported a possible brake failure that sent the funicular plunging down the steep hillside before it crashed, making it one of Lisbon’s worst transport tragedies.
A funicular is a railway system that uses cables to transport passengers along steep slopes. Since the mid-19th century, history has recorded some terrible railway crashes. Whether due to brake failures, derailments, accidental fires, or human error, a rail wreck is a traumatic and very often fatal event. Fortunately, accidents are rare occurrences given the advancements in railway safety technology. But they can—and do—still happen.
Click through and be reminded of dramatic train crashes through the ages.