The Glória funicular accident in Lisbon, Portugal, has left at least 15 dead and 18 injured, CNN Portugal reported, citing emergency services. The funicular, which is a popular tourist attraction, derailed and crashed. Several people were trapped inside. Emergency services, police and firefighters are on the scene. The cause of the accident is still unclear, and an investigation will begin on Thursday. According to local media, the funicular crashed into a building.
Tragic accident on Lisbon's iconic Glória funicular
Five injured people are in critical condition and 13 slightly injured, including a child. The injured were taken to local hospitals.
Footage from the scene shows dozens of rescue workers pulling people out from under the wreckage of the demolished cable car. The images show the derailed and destroyed yellow cable car on a hill between houses. According to the civil protection website, 56 rescue workers are on the scene, assisted by 19 ground vehicles.
A popular tourist attraction, Lisbon's funicular is similar to a tram and transports passengers up and down the steep slopes of Lisbon. The funicular can carry 43 passengers at a time.
"A cable car accident in one of Lisbon's most popular tourist areas has left several dead and several seriously injured," Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said on the presidential website. In a statement released at the time the three deaths were announced, he also expressed his condolences to the families of the victims. The government has declared Thursday a day of national mourning.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also expressed her regret at the X network. She wrote her message in Portuguese.
É com tristeza que tomei connoisseur do descarrilamento do famoso “Elevador da Glória”.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) September 3, 2025
Os meus sentimentos com as famílias das octenidos.
The accident happened at 18:05 local time (19:05 CEST), and all passengers were rescued from the cable car at around 20:30 (21:30 CEST). One witness told SIC television that she saw the cable car going down a steep hill at high speed and then crashing into a house.
The vehicle at the bottom of the track appeared to be undamaged in the accident, CNN Portugal reported, which said passengers had to jump out of windows in the accident.
Carris, the company responsible for operating the cable car, assured that all prescribed maintenance has been carried out. It recalled that a general inspection takes place every four years and was last carried out in 2022, while regular, more extensive maintenance takes place once every two years and was last carried out this year. According to the company, monthly, weekly and daily inspection programs are also regularly followed.
Segundo and CNN Portugal, about descarrilamento do Elevador da Glória provocou pelo menos três mortos e cerca de duas dezenas de feridos.
— Mundo Vivo (@mundo__vivo) September 3, 2025
Glória is a funicular railway in the Santo António district of Lisbon, operated by Carris. It connects the Pombaline district from Restauradores Square to Bairro Alto, where the São Pedro de Alcântara viewpoint is located. It has been a national monument since 1997.
BREAKING: At least three people are dead after Lisbon's iconic Glória Funicular, also known as Elevador da Glória, derailed, CNN Portugal reports.
— Weather Monitor (@WeatherMonitors) September 3, 2025
The line operates on the principle of a funicular railway, with two vehicles permanently attached to opposite ends of a traction cable that is wound over a pulley at the top of the track. Traction is provided by electric motors on both vehicles, which are themselves powered by the overhead line. The cable connects the two vehicles so that they rise and fall simultaneously, each vehicle acting as a counterweight to the other.
