"The mangled wreckage of a yellow tram-like carriage, which carries people up and down a steep hillside in the Portuguese capital, lay where it had left the track and hit a building on Wednesday, just metres from its twin at the bottom of the steep 265-metre slope. The traction cable linking them had snapped. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed to the Irish Independent that it is not aware of any Irish citizens affected."
"Lisbon resident Abel Esteves, 75, and his wife and grandson were among 40 passengers in the lower car who saw the carriage plunge towards them before derailing at the last second. "I told my wife: 'We're all going to die here'," he said. "It picked up a brutal speed, took a slight turn and hit the building with a loud bang." Flags flew at half-mast as Portugal declared a day of mourning and the city's two other funiculars were shut for inspections."
""This is one of the greatest human tragedies in our recent history," Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said in a press conference on Thursday, adding that he expected the investigation into the causes of the accident to be concluded swiftly. He said Portugal's state airline TAP had offered to provide transport for the families of the victims and to repatriate the injured and the deceased. Thirty-eight people were hurt in the accident, with 15 killed at the scene while one more died in hospital overnight."
A yellow tram-like funicular carriage in Lisbon derailed after its traction cable snapped, plunging down a steep 265-metre slope and hitting a building just metres from its twin. Fifteen people died at the scene and one more died in hospital, while 38 people were injured. Union representatives had flagged concerns about cable tension prior to the accident. Flags flew at half-mast as Portugal declared a day of mourning, and the Pope sent condolences and blessings. Portugal's state airline TAP offered transport for families and to repatriate the injured and deceased. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is not aware of any Irish citizens affected.
Read at Irish Independent
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