A German father who was initially believed to have died in the Lisbon funicular crash has been found alive in hospital. The man, from Hamburg, was thought to have perished in front of his toddler son, who was miraculously rescued from the wreckage.
The family went to the Institute of Forensic Medicine on Thursday to identify the father's body but were unable to do so. A police officer then took them to São José hospital, where the man was found alive but in a very serious condition, a Portuguese police spokesperson confirmed.
The police had earlier suggested the father might be among the dead after receiving a physical description from the family. However, a DNA test later revealed that the deceased man was not German. The German foreign ministry stated that no German citizens were among the fatalities.
The toddler's mother remains in critical but stable condition at Santa Maria hospital. The crash, which occurred when the Gloria funicular derailed on a steep Lisbon hill, killed 16 people, including three British nationals. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer expressed his deep sadness and solidarity with Portugal.
Among the victims named were brake guard Andre Jorge Goncalves Marques, former volleyball referee Pedro Manuel Alves Trindade, and lawyer Alda Matias. Portugal's prime minister called the incident one of the biggest human tragedies in recent history.
