As Sonia Silva prepared to leave work on Wednesday evening, she was asked by a colleague to help with a quick task. It meant she missed her regular funicular ride down the hill with a work friend on their commute home from the office in the centre of Lisbon. When she arrived at the stop a short while later, the funicular had crashed and her friend was dead. When I got there, it was a tragedy, she said.
Sixteen people were killed on Wednesday evening in Lisbon when its iconic 140-year-old Glória funicular derailed and crashed into a building. The Portuguese prime minister has described it as one of the biggest human tragedies of our recent history. Many of those killed were foreign nationals, including three British people whose identities have not yet been announced. Police say five killed were Portuguese - and four of them worked at the Santa Casa da Misericórdia charity, located at the top of the hill.
A service was held on Friday in a church next to the charity's headquarters, honouring the workers killed in the crash. The service was crowded, with people filling the aisles and any other available space. Sonia said she had worked at the charity for eight years and used the funicular daily. She expressed her feelings of gratitude for being alive but anger and sadness for the loss of her colleagues, particularly Sandra Coelho, with whom she traveled and shared daily commutes.
Colleagues and mourners reflected on the tragedy, recalling the funicular as a part of their daily lives with disbelief and sorrow. As the investigation continues, speculation swirls about the causes of the crash, with workers expressing concern over the funicular's maintenance and capacity issues. Many said they could not envision using the funicular again, feeling its reliability had been compromised. The community continues to mourn, leaving flowers and tributes at the crash site to honor those lost.
Sixteen people were killed on Wednesday evening in Lisbon when its iconic 140-year-old Glória funicular derailed and crashed into a building. The Portuguese prime minister has described it as one of the biggest human tragedies of our recent history. Many of those killed were foreign nationals, including three British people whose identities have not yet been announced. Police say five killed were Portuguese - and four of them worked at the Santa Casa da Misericórdia charity, located at the top of the hill.
A service was held on Friday in a church next to the charity's headquarters, honouring the workers killed in the crash. The service was crowded, with people filling the aisles and any other available space. Sonia said she had worked at the charity for eight years and used the funicular daily. She expressed her feelings of gratitude for being alive but anger and sadness for the loss of her colleagues, particularly Sandra Coelho, with whom she traveled and shared daily commutes.
Colleagues and mourners reflected on the tragedy, recalling the funicular as a part of their daily lives with disbelief and sorrow. As the investigation continues, speculation swirls about the causes of the crash, with workers expressing concern over the funicular's maintenance and capacity issues. Many said they could not envision using the funicular again, feeling its reliability had been compromised. The community continues to mourn, leaving flowers and tributes at the crash site to honor those lost.
