An extraordinary meeting to update information regarding the Elevator da Glória accident in Lisbon, which resulted in 16 deaths and over 20 injuries on September 3, took place on Monday, October 13, a day after local elections.
Speaking to journalists at the end of the meeting, which was also attended by the president of the municipality, Carlos Moedas, vice-president Filipe Anacoreta Correia of the CDS-PP said, “It was carried out in a very calm atmosphere.”
“It is the tone required to assess a tragedy of this magnitude, away from electoral exploitation and partisanship. Calm is needed. Indeed, the tragedy remains an issue we need to understand. What happened should not have occurred, but now we are committed to trying to understand what happened, and that commitment is total, in a calmer context,” he stated, emphasizing the distance from electoral exploitation.
“Corked Posture”
However, opposition councilors believed the extraordinary meeting yesterday on the accident provided very little clarity.
PS councilor Pedro Anastácio criticized the PSD/CDS-PP leadership and Carris, denouncing “a corked posture of non-disclosure of information,” which he claimed “is negative because it hinders the city’s confidence in Carris public transport infrastructure recovery.”
Opposition councilors in Lisbon’s City Council believed the extraordinary meeting today about the Elevator da Glória accident provided very little new information, while the PSD/CDS-PP leadership emphasized calm, being “far from electoral exploitation.”
Lusa | 21:34 – 13/10/2025
Previous Accidents? “Nobody Wanted to Bear Them”
Regarding the new data concerning the Elevator da Glória, including two accidents before the September 3 tragedy that were not appropriately recorded by Carris, the vice-president assured “nobody wanted to bear or not bring them to light,” explaining these incidents were due to human error and “do not have any parallel” with the extent of the accident, “pointing to structural issues of elevator safety.”
“From Carris and the City’s point of view, there is a full commitment to clarify everything that helps us understand what happened. No one is on the defensive or concerned about hiding or not providing information, but it is a challenging management of an accident that left us all very troubled, potentially leading to communication gaps,” Anacoreta Correia justified, reinforcing that the total commitment is to understand what happened “to prevent it from happening again.”
City Duty “Was to Immediately Quash This Controversy”
For Socialist Pedro Anastácio, the duty of Lisbon City “was to immediately quash this controversy” with “complete clarification.” “We regret that this was not the option,” the PS councilor noted.
Regarding alerts on the elevator’s operation, Pedro Anastácio mentioned that the information conveyed was “generic about maintenance and never specifically about the Elevator da Glória.”
“Many aspects remain to be clarified, namely understanding what happened and what went wrong,” the Socialist insisted, awaiting the final accident report to understand what went wrong, who failed, and who is responsible.
PCP councilor Ana Jara stated, “This meeting, in some way, had no effect,” indicating that “no thorough clarification” was provided on the communist proposal to assess the elevators’ conservation status, including maintenance externalization and the tourist load study.
Cidadãos Por Lisboa (elected by the PS/Livre coalition) councilor Paula Marques noted that “there were no substantial clarifications,” referring to several unanswered questions by PSD/CDS-PP, especially about Carris’s responsibility in monitoring the maintenance company.
Also present, Livre councilor Carlos Teixeira, substituting for Rui Tavares, expressed dissatisfaction with the clarifications, particularly regarding “issues about the past, present, and future of this entire situation,” highlighting the elevator modernization process.
Lisbon City Still Hasn’t Established Support Fund for Victims
Meanwhile, the Lusa agency revealed that Lisbon City has yet to establish a municipal support fund for the Elevator da Glória accident victims as expenses are currently covered by insurers.
“The fund is to cover expenses for those affected by the accident, and it was unequivocally stated by the City President and also by myself that there is full willingness to establish the fund for necessary expenses,” said Filipe Anacoreta Correia.
Lisbon City has yet to establish a municipal support fund for the victims of the Elevator da Glória accident, as expenses are presently being covered by insurers, the vice-president of the municipality stated today.
Lusa | 19:34 – 13/10/2025
The meeting yesterday was scheduled at the request of councilors from PS, Livre, BE, and Cidadãos por Lisboa (elected by the PS/Livre coalition) to obtain “clarifications about falsehoods, omissions, and incongruences.”
The meeting was initially requested for September 25, but the City President decided to schedule it for yesterday, the day after local elections, “to avoid partisanship of a matter that deserves all technical clarifications.”
After this third extraordinary meeting of Lisbon City regarding the accident, attended by Carris president Pedro Bogas, PS councilor Pedro Anastácio emphasized securing support for victims and their families as a priority.
“We want guarantees of a total commitment to support the victims and their families, and it was said that the fund hasn’t been established yet, not denying the intention to still implement it. It was stated that so far the insurer has assumed all expenses,” the Socialist said, considering it “positive” that support is reaching those affected.
The vice-president of the City reinforced that insurers have shown “total availability and great commitment” in responding to victims, saying, “There is no economic, financial, or contractual consideration by the insurers,” acknowledging that Fidelidade, the primary insurer, has taken responsibility.
“I would like to point out that Carris is legally required to have a coverage of 7.5 million euros, but Carris has contracted for a coverage of up to 50 million euros, paying for it. Thus we have ample coverage. All expenses for people are assured. An indemnity will be ensured, naturally following necessary procedures, and I know that possibilities of agreement are being processed in some cases,” continued Filipe Anacoreta Correia.
“The Important Thing Is That Support Reaches All Families”
CDS-PP councilor further stressed that, until now, insurers are committed to ensuring the payment of all expenses and doing so “as quickly as possible,” insisting that the municipality’s creation of a support fund is currently unnecessary.
“We should not save insurers’ money. It was missing, it’s their duty to meet these needs,” he highlighted.
Without data on expenses tallied so far, the deputy mayor confirmed having “unequivocal assurance that, regardless of the amount, all expenses are completely covered by the insurer.”
Given the information that the support fund hasn’t been established due to the insurers’ primary role, Cidadãos Por Lisboa councilor Paula Marques remarked, “the important thing is that support effectively reaches all families,” while Livre councilor Carlos Teixeira (substituting Rui Tavares) noted that “the City remains available for any costs that need covering.”
PCP councilor Ana Jara pointed out “contradictions in support for the victims” and stated that “the City’s responses were unsatisfactory in explaining about this, as well as contact with the victims and families.”
Nevertheless, the city’s vice-president confirmed that all affected individuals were contacted.
The PS councilor also added that “it was possible to clarify an electoral campaign controversy this way,” admitting the need to understand if it was indeed the case, “because in fact there are still testimonies that contradict what was said.”
The derailment of the Elevator da Glória, managed by the municipal company Carris, occurred on September 3, resulting in 16 deaths and two dozen injuries involving Portuguese and foreigners of various nationalities.
