LISBON — The funicular that crashed in Lisbon killing 16 people in early September had a faulty cable, the official inquiry said Monday, recommending the city’s vehicles stay out of service until their safety can be confirmed.
The accident, which saw the picture-postcard 19th-century Gloria tramway hurtle into a building after careering off the rails, shocked the Portuguese capital and laid bare fears over the safety of the popular yet ageing tourist attraction.
Portugal’s air and rail accident investigations bureau (GPIAAF) wrote in a note published three days after the tragedy that a cable linking two cabins disconnected shortly before the September 3 incident.
The GPIAAF’s preliminary report released on Monday said the cable was not up to the standards laid out by the city’s transport operator, CCFL.
“The cable did not comply with the specifications in force at the CCFL to be used for the Gloria tram,” the 35-page report stated.
The city’s other funiculars have been out of service since the accident and the GPIAAF said they should remain grounded until inspectors confirm they have braking systems “capable of immobilising the cabins in the event of a cable break”.
Eleven of the 16 victims were foreign nationals, with three UK citizens, two South Koreans, two Canadians, one Frenchwoman, one Swiss, one American, and one Ukrainian identified among the dead.
The crash also injured some 20 people, including at least 11 foreigners.
– 50 seconds –
The Portuguese victims included four staff members from the same social care institution, whose offices sit at the top of the sheer side road serviced by the funicular.
First opening in 1885, the Gloria’s two wagons were propelled up and down a steep hill by a system of counterweights along its 265-metre (870 feet) track.
According to the GPIAAF’s note days after the accident, a routine inspection on the morning of the accident found nothing unusual about the cable that snapped.
The investigators said the Gloria’s driver had activated the funicular’s brakes, but they were unable to halt the carriage without the counterweight system’s help.
The whole incident happened in just 50 seconds, they added.
The bureau’s final report, set to come with safety recommendations, is expected within the next year, though an intermediary report could update the public on the probe’s progress.
