By Andrei Khalip and Sergio Goncalves, Reuters
Police and firefighters work on the site of a funicular railway accident in Lisbon, on September 3, 2025.
Photo: AFP / Patricia de Melo Moreira
At least 15 people died and around 18 were injured on Wednesday (local time) when Lisbon’s Gloria funicular railway car, which is popular with tourists, derailed and crashed, an emergency medical service spokesman told reporters.
Authorities would not identify the victims or disclose their nationalities, but said some foreign nationals were among the dead.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it has no indication that any New Zealanders have been involved.
In a statement, an MFAT spokesperson says it’s monitoring the situation.
“It’s a tragic day for our city. … Lisbon is in mourning, it is a tragic, tragic incident,” Carlos Moedas, mayor of the Portuguese capital, told reporters.
Footage from the site showed the yellow tram-like funicular, which carries people up and down a steep hillside in the Portuguese capital, destroyed, and emergency workers pulling people out of the wreckage.
Photo: AFP / Patricia de Melo Moreira
President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa lamented the tragic accident in a statement, expressing hope that authorities would soon establish what had caused the crash.
Police investigators were inspecting the site and the prosecutor general’s office said it would open a formal investigation, as is customary in public transport accidents.
The line, which opened in 1885, connects Lisbon’s downtown area near the Restauradores Square with the Bairro Alto (Upper Quarter), famous for its vibrant nightlife.
It is one of three funicular lines operated by the municipal public transport company Carris and is used by tourists as well as local residents.
Carris said in a statement that “all maintenance protocols have been carried out”, including monthly and weekly maintenance programs and daily inspections.
The Gloria line transports around 3 million people annually, according to the town hall.
Its two cars, each capable of carrying around 40 people, are attached to opposite ends of a haulage cable with traction provided by electric motors on the two cars.
The car at the bottom of the line was apparently undamaged, but user-generated video footage aired by CNN Portugal showed it jolting violently when the other one derailed and several passengers jumping out of its windows and people shouting.
Portugal, and Lisbon in particular, have experienced a tourism boom in the past decade, with visitors cramming the popular downtown area in the summer months.
-Reuters / RNZ