Cabins in Lisbon streetcar crash lost balance after cable linking them disconnected
Inspectors investigating the deadly streetcar crash in Lisbon, Portugal, found that two cabins lost stability after the cable linking them disconnected before the funicular came off its rails and killed 16 people Wednesday, including two Canadians.
Locals and tourists on Friday placed tributes near the site of the deadly derailment of a streetcar in Portugal’s capital that killed 16 people and injured 21 others Wednesday. (Sept. 6, 2025)
Inspectors investigating the deadly streetcar crash in Lisbon, Portugal, found that two cabins lost stability after the cable linking them disconnected before the funicular came off its rails and killed 16 people Wednesday, including two Canadians.
The Portuguese government’s office for air and rail accident investigations said in a preliminary technical report that the cabins had travelled not more than about six metres, when they suddenly lost the balancing force provided by the cable connecting them.
The office explained that the second cabin turned the other way around while the first cabin kept accelerating in speed despite the brakeman’s efforts to stop the car.Â
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
The second cabin then rolled to the left in the direction of travel, eventually losing control and crashing against the wall of a building.
Portuguese police said five of the victims were from Portugal, three from the United Kingdom, two from Canada, two from South Korea, one from the United States, one from France, one from Switzerland, and one from Ukraine. Â
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2025.
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