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Lisbon cable car malfunction leads to tragic accident, according to investigators

Funicular accident in Lisbon leads to the loss of 16 lives as the connecting cable between two cabins snapped, although the cable had undergone a visual inspection just hours prior, according to investigators' statements on Saturday.

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Funicular in Lisbon malfunctions prior to fatal accident: investigators
Funicular in Lisbon malfunctions prior to fatal accident: investigators

Lisbon cable car malfunction leads to tragic accident, according to investigators

In a tragic turn of events, a funicular crash in Lisbon this week has left 16 people dead and at least 11 foreigners among the injured. The incident occurred on Wednesday, and the cable linking two cabins disconnected before the crash, causing the vehicle to plummet at a speed of 60 kilometres (37 miles) an hour.

Local media have speculated about the cause of the crash, mentioning ruptured high-tension cables and maintenance work overseen by Lisbon's public transport operator, Carris. However, the accident investigations bureau (GPIAAF) stated that the scheduled maintenance plan was up to date, and a visual inspection had been conducted on the morning of the accident, which detected no anomalies in the vehicles' cable or braking systems.

The GPIAAF emphasized that the two investigations now underway into the funicular crashβ€”one by the accident investigators' office and another by the prosecutors' officeβ€”are entirely independent of each other. Pedro Bogas, the head of Carris, has defended the company's equipment maintenance policy, insisting that procedures were "scrupulously followed."

The condition of the section of the cable where it separated from the vehicle could not be visually inspected before the crash. Portuguese media have published the report of the daily inspection conducted on the morning of the tragedy, which indicated the operating system was running smoothly.

The search results do not provide information about which company is responsible for the maintenance of the cable of the affected funicular railway in Lisbon.

According to the weekly publication Expresso, the number of passengers using the three funiculars operated by Carris in Lisbon jumped by 53 percent between 2022 and 2024, to 1.5 million passengers last year.

The GPIAAF plans to publish a preliminary report into the accident within 45 days. The authorities expressed their condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.

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