Tributes have been paid to a “kind and dedicated” worker on the Gloria funicular railway that derailed and crashed into a building in Lisbon, killing at least 16 people and injuring 23 others. The brake guard, Andre Jorge Goncalves Marques, was named as one of the victims, alongside former volleyball referee Pedro Manuel Alves Trindade and lawyer Alda Matias.
Carris, the company operating the funicular, described Marques as a “dedicated, kind and smiling” professional whose “courage and professionalism” came to a tragic end. The Portuguese transport union Sitra also offered condolences, while Prime Minister Luís Montenegro called the crash “one of the biggest human tragedies of our recent history”.
Among the dead were nationals from Portugal, Canada, Germany, Ukraine and the United States. A three-year-old German boy survived the crash but his father died and his mother was injured. At least ten nationalities were among the injured, including people from France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Morocco, South Korea, and Cape Verde.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation, with initial reports suggesting the cable may have come loose. Lisbon City Council has suspended three other funicular railways as a precaution. The government declared a day of national mourning, and emergency services worked overnight to rescue survivors and recover bodies.
Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa offered condolences and said authorities are working to establish the cause. Investigators have finished assessments at the site and will publish initial findings soon. The city mayor confirmed that Carris has been asked to open internal and external inquiries.
