Lisbon funicular cable crash: Who are the victims?

Portugal is in mourning after 16 people died and a further 23 were injured when Lisbon’s famous funicular cable railway derailed on Wednesday evening.

A transport worker was among those killed, while a three-year-old German boy was reported to have escaped with minor injuries.

Police have not yet confirmed the identities of those who died, but here is what we do know about the victims.

Some 16 people died in the crash, Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro told a news conference on Thursday. The number was revised down after emergency services earlier put the toll at 17.

Among the dead were seven men and eight women, Margarida Castro Martins, head of Lisbon’s Civil Protection Agency, said.

Five of those killed were Portuguese, while there were also two South Koreans, two Canadians, an American, a German, a Ukrainian and a Swiss among the dead. Three victims remain unidentified.

While the funicular is popular with tourists, it is also used by locals to go about their lives and get to and from work.

André Jorge Gonçalves Marques, who worked as the brake guard on the funicular, was among the dead, Portuguese transport union Sitra said.

“We send our condolences to the families and friends of the victims of the accident and wish them a speedy recovery as well as the best recovery to the others injured in the accident,” the union wrote on Facebook.

He was a “dedicated, kind and happy professional, always willing to contribute to the greater good”, according to his employer Carris, which runs the funicular.

Former volleyball referee Pedro Manuel Alves Trindade has been named as another victim of the crash by the Portuguese Volleyball Federation, which said it was “deeply saddened by the tragedy”.

It added that Mr Trindade had served as leader of the Lisbon Volleyball Association as well as being a referee for it.

He was described as a professor in hotel management and tourism by Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha.

Another victim is lawyer Alda Matias, according to Portuguese media.

She is reported to have worked for the Santa Casa da Misericórdia organisation, which Mr Trindade is also said to have links with.

The charity confirmed that four employees died in Wednesday’s crash and said two others remained in hospital.

“It is in shock that we all find ourselves. We lost colleagues, friends, people with whom we shared our daily lives and our mission,” ombudsman Paulo Sousa wrote to employees.

One worker, Valdemar Bastos, told the BBC that staff often used the funicular, along with tourists and elderly people, rather than walking up the steep hill.

A German family-of-three were on board the funicular when it crashed, local media reported.

The father died at the scene, Portuguese news outlet Observador reported, while the mother was said to be in a critical condition in hospital, and a three-year-old boy sustained minor injuries.

Of five “severely injured” people taken to São José hospital on Wednesday, one died, three were in a “controlled condition”, and one was in intensive care, the hospital said on Thursday.

It added that a pregnant woman and a child were among four people with minor injuries who had been discharged.

On Thursday, Alvaro Santos Almeida, head of Portugal’s’ health service, said 23 people had been injured. Six of them are in intensive care and three have sustained minor wounds.

Three of those injured are Portuguese, one is German, one is South Korean, one is Swiss, one is Cape Verdean and one is Moroccan.

He added that Spanish, Israeli, Brazilian, Italian and French nationals were also “involved in this incident”.

The Glória funicular can carry about 40 passengers and is extremely popular with tourists – but it is also crucial for the city’s residents, to help them travel up and down Lisbon’s hilly streets.

We do not know how many people were on board, nor the identity of all those who died. The death toll and number of people injured could change in the coming hours.

We also do not know whether any UK nationals are involved – the UK Foreign Office has said it is aware of the incident and is ready to provide consular assistance to any affected British nationals.