A report into the deadly Lisbon funicular crash has said the cable linking two carriages of the Glória Funicular snapped and the brakeman activated the brakes.

The carriages had travelled no more than six metres when they “suddenly lost the balancing force of the connecting cable”.

Kayleigh Smith, 36, and William Nelson, 44, died alongside 14 others in Wednesday’s incident, including another British victim who has not yet been named.

These are the first official details about the accident since the day of the tragedy.

The report also confirms that on the morning of the accident a scheduled visual inspection had been carried out, but the area where the cable broke “is not visible without dismantling”.

Five Portuguese citizens died when the packed carriage plummeted out of control – four of them workers at a charity on the hill – but most victims were foreigners.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

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