‘There’s kids under there’: Witnesses share horror of Lisbon funicular crash that killed 17

Lisbon’s Gloria funicular has been a huge tourist attraction since it was built over 140 years ago, but now an investigation has been launched after 17 people were killed following a serious crash that injured almost 30 more.

The Portuguese capital was left reeling following the horrific incident, which occurred on September 3 at around 18:15 local time. The vehicle slammed into the Avenida da Liberdade, as now viral clips saw someone scream, “There are kids under the tram!”

🇵🇹 At least 15 dead and 18 injured: 5 seriously, 13 lightly (including a child) after Lisbon's iconic Gloria Funicular, also known as the Elevador Da Glória, derailed, according to CNN Portugal. pic.twitter.com/aL0rPQxsHO

— Pisklauren (@pisklauren) September 3, 2025

The city’s mayor, Carlos Moedas, wrote on Twitter: “Lisbon is in mourning. This is a tragic moment for the city. The teams from CML – Firefighters Sappers Regiment, Civil Protection and Municipal Police – as well as the Volunteer Firefighters, the PSP and the INEM, are on the scene providing assistance. The victims have been taken to the hospital.

“I deeply regret the lives lost and all the suffering caused. At this moment, what matters is to act: support the families, assist the injured and ensure all necessary support to the authorities on the ground.”

Lisboa está de luto. Este é um momento trágico para a cidade.
As equipas da CML – Regimento de Sapadores Bombeiros, Proteção Civil e Polícia Municipal – bem como os Bombeiros Voluntários, a PSP e o INEM, estão no local a prestar socorro. As vítimas foram encaminhadas para o…

— Carlos Moedas (@Moedas) September 3, 2025

Portugal’s government declared a day of national mourning on Thursday, September 4, with Prime Minister Luís Montenegro cancelling his agenda amidst the devastating fallout.

“It is with sadness that I learned of the derailment of the famous ‘Elevador da Glória’. My condolences to the families of the victims,” Ursula von de Leyen, president of the European Commission, said.

People near the Lisbon funicular crash said passengers were ‘screaming in fear’

Following the tragedy, witnesses have spoken to local media about the Lisbon funicular crash that resulted in 17 deaths and over 23 people injured.

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One eyewitness, who spoke to Portugal’s Correio da Manha, detailed how everything was fine until “it lost its brakes” about five feet from the end of the track. He recalled how people “started screaming in fear.”

“It wasn’t going at all at normal speed, and we only had time to turn around and start running, because we didn’t know if it would hit the elevator below,” he explained. “When I look back, I see the elevator falling because of the curve and crashing into the building, and there was a man there on the sidewalk.”

Someone else told the same publication that she heard a “huge bang” before the “tram [was] completely destroyed due to the impact with the building, some dust rising, and many people screaming.”

Speaking to the Portuguese TV channel SIC, another woman recalled the funicular hitting a building as it sped down the steep street “at full speed.”

“It hit a building with brutal force and collapsed like a cardboard box; it had no brakes,” the woman said.

Police have now launched an investigation into the crash, and more information is expected to follow.

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Featured image credit: Brian J Ritchie/Hotsauce/Shutterstock and MIGUEL A LOPES/EPA/Shutterstock