Lisbon awoke on Thursday to a city transformed by tragedy. The Elevador da Glória, one of its most cherished and recognizable funiculars, had derailed during the busy evening rush hour the day before, leaving 16 people dead and 21 injured, five of them seriously. It was, as Portugal’s Prime Minister Luís Montenegro described, “one of the biggest human tragedies of our recent history,” a sentiment echoed in the somber faces and gestures of mourning seen throughout the capital and across the country.
The disaster struck at around 6:15 p.m. on September 3, 2025, as the 140-year-old streetcar, packed with tourists and locals alike, descended the steep hill between Restauradores Square and the Bairro Alto neighborhood. The funicular, an icon of Lisbon’s hilly landscape and a magnet for visitors, suddenly careened off its rails, hurtling about 800 feet down the incline before crashing into a building near Avenida da Liberdade, the city’s main thoroughfare. The impact was so violent that, as one eyewitness, Teresa d’Avó, told SIC television, “it hit the building with brutal force and fell apart like a cardboard box.”
The aftermath was chaos and heartbreak. Emergency responders rushed to the scene, freeing several passengers trapped in the wreckage while smoke billowed and bystanders—some fleeing in fear, others rushing to help—filled the cobblestone street. “The only thing we could do was turn and run,” one man recalled, his voice still shaken by the memory. “It’s a tragic situation, truly tragic,” said local resident Carla Gomes, speaking with AFP.
Among the dead were five Portuguese citizens, two South Koreans, and a Swiss national, with a strong possibility that the victims also included two Canadians, one American, one German, and one Ukrainian, according to Luís Neves, the head of Portugal’s national investigative police. Three victims remained unidentified as of Thursday, their identities hinging on dental records or DNA held abroad. The injured, ranging in age from 24 to 65 and including a three-year-old child, came from a mosaic of nations: Spaniards, Israelis, Portuguese, Brazilians, Italians, French, Germans, Moroccans, South Koreans, Cape Verdeans, and Canadians, underscoring the funicular’s international appeal and the global resonance of the tragedy (AP, BBC, CBS News).
Lisbon is no stranger to visitors—last year, the city welcomed about 8.5 million tourists, many of whom lined up for the short, picturesque journey on the Glória funicular. For some, the disaster hit especially close to home. Felicity Ferriter, a 70-year-old British tourist, had just arrived at a hotel near the crash site. “We heard it, we heard the bang,” she told the Associated Press. She and her husband had planned to ride the funicular the next day. “It was to be one of the highlights of our holiday,” she said, adding with a shudder, “It could have been us.”
Among the dead was André Jorge Gonçalves Marques, the funicular’s brakeman, described by his union as “a dedicated, kind and happy professional, always willing to contribute to the greater good.” Another victim, Pedro Manuel Alves Trindade, was a former volleyball referee, mourned by the Portuguese volleyball federation as they expressed being “deeply saddened by the tragedy.”
As the city mourned, the focus turned to the cause of the crash. The Elevador da Glória, in service since 1914 and classified as a national monument, underwent a full maintenance program last year and was visually inspected daily, most recently just nine hours before the derailment, according to Carris, the company that operates Lisbon’s streetcars and buses. Pedro de Brito Bogas, Carris’ CEO, emphasized at a news conference that the funiculars had been operating correctly since 2007, and that maintenance spending had more than doubled over the past decade.
But the investigation into what went wrong is only just beginning. Witnesses reported the streetcar appeared to have no brakes as it sped downhill out of control. “It looked like the streetcar had no brakes,” one told SIC, while another recounted to Observador, “the vehicle was out of control, without brakes.” There was speculation in local media that a cable had come loose or snapped, causing the car to lose control, but officials have so far declined to confirm any specific cause. “The city needs answers,” Lisbon’s Mayor Carlos Moedas said in a televised statement, cautioning that talk of possible causes was “mere speculation.”
Multiple investigations are now underway. The government’s Office for Air and Rail Accident Investigations concluded its analysis of the wreckage and promised a preliminary report by Friday. Chief police investigator Nelson Oliveira said a police report can be expected within 45 days. Carris has opened its own internal investigation, and the mayor has called for an independent external inquiry. Meanwhile, all of Lisbon’s other funiculars and vertical lifts were shut down for technical inspections, and three other famous funicular streetcars in the city remain out of service pending the results.
The tragedy reverberated far beyond Portugal’s borders. European leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, offered their condolences, and flags at the European Parliament in Brussels flew at half-staff. The United States confirmed that one of its citizens was among the dead, and diplomatic staff were providing consular assistance to the family, CBS News reported. European Union flags, too, were lowered in a gesture of solidarity and mourning.
Lisbon’s grief was palpable on Thursday as hundreds gathered for a somber Mass at the Church of Saint Dominic, attended by Prime Minister Montenegro, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and Mayor Moedas. Many wore black, some embraced in shared sorrow, and flowers filled the candlelit sanctuary. In his sermon, Patriarch Rui I of Lisbon reflected on the faith people place in machines—and how, in this case, that faith was cruelly betrayed.
For now, the Elevador da Glória sits silent, its battered remains cordoned off as investigators sift through clues. The crash has left Lisbon not just in mourning, but searching for answers and reassurance that such a tragedy can never happen again. The historic funiculars, so long a symbol of the city’s charm and ingenuity, now serve as a somber reminder of the delicate balance between tradition, safety, and the relentless passage of time.
