The 3rd of September, 2025, will remain etched in the memories of Lisbon’s residents for years to come. A tragedy struck the city when one of its most iconic symbols, the Elevador da Glória, derailed, resulting in the deaths of 16 people, both Portuguese and foreigners, and over 20 injuries.
The investigation into the accident is ongoing. However, throughout this process, several details about the Carris elevator and the emergency response have emerged.
On the day of the tragedy, it was revealed by Expresso that, in addition to the city’s hospitals having only one orthopedic specialist and two on-call interns in the São José trauma emergency department, the medical emergency and resuscitation vehicle (VMER) from Hospital Santa Maria did not respond to activation by INEM because it was unable to mobilize.
Minutes after the elevator’s fall and the alert being raised, the vehicle, which is stationed at the country’s largest hospital and equipped with a doctor and a nurse, similar to an air ambulance, was locked with the keys inside, making it inaccessible since the replacement key was in the Algarve.
Several hours were needed to resolve the issue and for the VMER to become operational again to respond to INEM’s assistance requests.
The weekly publication reported that the VMER at Santa Maria was borrowed from the Algarve to replace one under maintenance.
INEM explained that their logistics service attempted to resolve the situation immediately. However, the vehicle only resumed service around three hours after the alert, at 9:20 PM, due to the need to wait for the spare key to arrive from Loulé.
“Breaking the glass, which was considered, would have rendered the vehicle inoperative for a longer period,” the institute clarified to Expresso, without disclosing how many requests went unanswered due to this incident.
Notícias ao Minuto has contacted the Hospital de Santa Maria and INEM and is awaiting further clarification on the situation.
