Three British nationals are among the 16 who died after the iconic Gloria funicular in Lisbon derailed and crashed, authorities have said.

The crash, which left 22 people injured, happened at around 6pm on Wednesday.

Footage showed one of the railway’s two carriages practically destroyed and emergency workers pulling people out of the wreckage.

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Everything we know about the Lisbon crash so far

So far, the nationalities of 11 of the people who died have been released by the authorities. They are: five people from Portugal, including four workers at a charity based near the funicular, two Koreans, one person from Switzerland, and three from Great Britain.

Brakeman Andrew Marques is the only person killed to have been identified so far.

All but one of the victims was declared dead at the scene, with the other dying of their injuries in hospital.

Image:
Emergency workers scramble to rescue people at the scene. Pic: Enex

Among the injured are 12 women, seven men, and a three-year-old child, according to Portugal’s Civil Protection Authority.

Three who suffered injuries are from Portugal, two from Germany, one from Spain, one from Korea, one from Cape Verde, one from Canada, one from Italy, one from France, one from Switzerland, and one from Morocco.

Those injured include 12 women and seven men between the ages of 25 and 65 and a three-year-old child, the Civil Protection authority said.

According to CNN Portugal, the two from Germany were the three-year-old child and his mother, who were both pulled from the wreckage.

The lower carriage in the foreground with the remains of the one that crashed further up the hill in Lisbon. Pic: AP
Image:
The lower carriage in the foreground with the remains of the one that crashed further up the hill in Lisbon. Pic: AP

The Gloria funicular connects Lisbon's Restauradores Square to the Bairro Alto viewpoint
Image:
The Gloria funicular connects Lisbon’s Restauradores Square to the Bairro Alto viewpoint

The Gloria funicular is hugely popular with tourists and classified as a national monument.

Its journey between Restauradores Square in downtown Lisbon and the Bairro Alto neighbourhood is just 265m (870ft) and three minutes long, but climbs up a steep hill, with two carriages travelling in opposite directions.

It was believed to be operating at full capacity as rush hour began in the Portuguese capital on Wednesday evening when the top car reportedly hurtled down the hill, left the tracks, and crashed into a building 30m (98ft) from the bottom.

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Lisbon funicular crash: ‘We felt no brakes anymore’

According to the people who were in the lower carriage, a few metres into their ascent, it started going backwards. When they saw the other car speeding towards them, they jumped through the windows to escape.

It is not clear what caused the crash but an urgent investigation has been opened.

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