Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa (right), accompanied by the Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, and Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, visit the scene of the accident to lay flowers in memory of the victims.MIGUEL A. LOPES (EFE) Two days after the derailment of Lisbon's second-oldest funicular, details of the nationality of the victims have been cleared up, but the cause of the worst accident in the history of the capital's century-old cable railways is yet to be established.
The accident occurred at 6:05 p.m. (local time) near Restauradores Square after a safety cable snapped, causing the vehicle to lose control and accelerate down the slope connecting the upper part of the city with the Baixa Pombalina district. The accident also affected a second cable car that was stopped at the beginning of the Gloria road with some passengers inside, and which was hit by the first.
"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.
