“There is a political responsibility that must be assigned to those who made the decision to outsource and to all those who, subsequently, including the current Mayor, decided to extend this external contract,” stated João Ferreira to Lusa.
The councilman was speaking about the conclusions of the preliminary report from the Office of Prevention and Investigation of Aircraft and Rail Accidents (GPIAAF) on the accident involving the Glória elevator, which identified failures by Carris, in maintenance, and in supervision.
On Monday, in a statement to Lusa, the Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, responded to the report, asserting that “it reaffirms that the unfortunate tragedy of the Glória elevator was due to technical causes, not political ones.”
According to João Ferreira, with this statement, Carlos Moedas “places himself in a position of being unable to do what is necessary now” and which “requires political decision, requires political responsibility,” since “it is from political decision that measures will be taken to intervene in those critical areas that the office highlighted.”
To Lusa, the PCP councilman stated that, regardless of the aspects that “will only be clarified in the final report,” the interim report already points to “very serious failures in the operation of Carris,” a company that does not have “a safety management system in line with the best current practices.”
“Equally serious failures, some very serious, are pointed out in the oversight and inspection of work conducted by entities external to the company, contracted by the company, and very serious failures are also pointed out in the work done by the entity contracted for the maintenance of elevators and lifts,” he added.
For João Ferreira, “there is evidence that this company is not in a position to continue the work for which it was contracted” and the solution to this problem “depends on a political decision” and the implementation of measures “to ensure that all these failures are addressed.”
He expresses “great concern at realizing that the Mayor reveals himself incapable of doing what needs to be done at this moment.”
The Glória elevator accident, which occurred on September 3, resulted in 16 deaths and about two dozen injuries, among Portuguese and foreigners of various nationalities.
In a preliminary report on the causes of the accident, accessed by Lusa, the GPIAAF pointed out failures by Carris, in maintenance and supervision.
The GPIAAF’s preliminary report reveals that the cable connecting the two cabins of the Glória elevator, which failed at its fastening point of the carriage that derailed, did not comply with Carris’s specifications nor was it certified for use in passenger transport.
This public body detected maintenance failures and omissions in the lift, also pointing out the lack of employee training and supervision of the work done by the contracted service company.
The GPIAAF states, for example, that the inspections scheduled for the day of the accident “are recorded as completed, although there is evidence that they were not conducted during the time period indicated on the corresponding registry sheet.”
The office further recommends that Carris should not reactivate the lifts in Lisbon “without reassessment by a specialized entity,” and that the Institute of Mobility and Transport should implement an appropriate regulatory framework.
