Lisbon, Sept. 4, 2025 (Lusa) - Bouquets and candles began to be laid on Thursday next to the Glória funicular in Lisbon, which derailed on Wednesday evening, causing 16 deaths and two dozen injuries, including Portuguese and foreigners.
One of the bouquets bore a handwritten message: "Rest in peace". The woman who laid them on the pavement next to the kiosk in front of Palácio Foz was at the scene for a few moments, visibly moved, and didn't make any statements.
A few minutes earlier, a young man had also left a bouquet of white flowers, and when he saw journalists approaching, he nodded no, indicating that he was paying his respects and didn't want to talk.
The police have set up a security perimeter near the place where the two lifts are still standing: the one that derailed, which is broken up with parts piled up against the pink building it hit, and the one that was going up to Bairro Alto, which is off the rails.
In addition to the journalists, many of whom were foreigners, members of the PSP, the Fire Brigade, the National Institute for Medical Emergencies, Civil Protection, the Judicial Police and the Municipal Police were at the scene of the accident in the morning.
The National Director of Portugal's criminal investigation police agency, PJ, Luís Neves, accompanied by the director of Lisbon's criminal investigation police agency, João Oliveira, also went to the scene in the morning.
In the meantime, the Sapadores Bombeiros and members of Lisbon's Civil Protection were moving along the Calçada da Glória, near the crashed funicular, while experts from the various authorities were near the two vehicles and removed a small black box from each one.
In the early afternoon, the Office for the Prevention and Investigation of Accidents with Aircraft and Railway Accidents (GPIAAF), along with other entities, concluded its investigations at the site of the derailment and said it would issue a statement on Friday.
Traffic is moving again on Avenida da Liberdade, except on the side near Calçada da Glória, but drivers are slowing down as they pass to see what is now visible from the yellow funicular, one of Lisbon's tourist symbols.
During the morning, many curious people, both locals and tourists, flocked to Praça dos Restauradores. Some came on purpose from outside Lisbon, to see the wreckage others passed by with expressions of shock and bewilderment, and still others filmed with their mobile phones in hand.
Meanwhile, after an initial analysis of the building the funicular crashed into, a source from Lisbon's Civil Protection told Lusa that "apparently the building only had some subsurface damage", from what was "possible to see from the outside". The same source said that, as soon as possible, "a more careful assessment" will be made.
The mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas (PSD), said today that he has asked the municipal company Carris to carry out "an independent external investigation", in addition to the internal inquiry, to ascertain responsibilities.
The Lisbon mayor was speaking at the prime minister's official residence, in a short statement to journalists at 13:20, without answering questions, after taking part in the cabinet meeting, at the invitation of the head of government, Luís Montenegro (PSD), which began at around 11:30.
"Anything that can be said at the moment is mere speculation. The city needs answers. I am, on behalf of the people of Lisbon, the first person to want everything, everything, to be investigated," said Carlos Moedas, noting that he had asked the president of Carris, in addition to an internal investigation, to open "an independent external investigation to ascertain all responsibilities in the shortest possible time".
The government decreed a day of national mourning on Thursday.
The Glória funicular, operated by Carris, connects Restauradores to the Jardim de São Pedro de Alcântara in Bairro Alto, covering a route of approximately 265 metres and is very popular with tourists.
RCP/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
