Portugal is observing a national day of mourning on Thursday after a Lisbon funicular derailed, killing 15 people in the capital’s worst accident in recent history. Authorities have given no details about those killed or the 23 people reported injured, leaving the casualty toll provisional. The 19th‑century Elevador da Gloria is a popular tourist ride, often crowded with visitors at this time of year for its short, steep ascent.

Pathologists at the national forensics institute, reinforced by colleagues from three other Portuguese cities, worked through the night on autopsies. The injured were admitted to hospitals in the Lisbon region. The wreckage remained on the road and was cordoned off by police. Investigators were due at the scene, with officials declining to speculate on a possible brake fault or a snapped cable. The yellow-and-white streetcar lay on its side on the narrow road, its sides and top crumpled after crashing into a building at a bend. ‘It hit the building with brutal force and fell apart like a cardboard box,’ Teresa d’Avo told Portuguese TV channel SIC. She described the vehicle as out of control and said passers-by moved to the middle of Avenida da Liberdade, the city’s main thoroughfare.

Lisbon city council halted operations of three other famous funiculars while safety checks were carried out. The Elevador da Gloria is classified as a national monument. Carris, the operator, said routine maintenance had been carried out and offered condolences to the victims and their families, pledging to determine the causes. Portugal’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa offered condolences to affected families, and Lisbon’s mayor, Carlos Moedas, said the city is in mourning. The government announced a day of national mourning for Thursday, describing the incident as a tragic accident that caused irreparable loss and left the country in mourning.