Accidents involving elevators, like the recent incident with Lisbon’s iconic Glória Funicular, are rare but not unprecedented. The notorious tragedy with the Santa Teresa streetcar in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, occurred 14 years ago and remains one of the deadliest involving such vehicles.
The incident took place on August 27, 2011, when an overcrowded, brake-less streetcar sped down Santa Teresa’s Rua Joaquim Murtinho. The vehicle derailed, hit a pole, and overturned. Six people lost their lives, and 57 were injured, including a Portuguese national. No arrests or charges have been made to date.
Local residents were unsurprised by the event, as investigations uncovered that safety mechanisms were crudely secured with wire instead of proper screws. The machinists’ union had warned of the streetcar’s technical issues, similar to those of the historic Glória Funicular, and overcrowding was a persistent problem.
The notorious Kaprun disaster in the Austrian Alps, which occurred 25 years ago on November 11, 2000, stands as one of the deadliest funicular accidents. A fire ignited by an illegal heater engulfed a fireproof train car mid-tunnel, claiming 155 lives. Only 12 survived. An absence of safety refuges and a parallel rescue tunnel compounded the tragedy. Five years later, court proceedings absolved company officials and technicians of negligence.
The recent deadly accident with the Elevador da Glória, resulting in 16 fatalities and over 20 injuries, joins the short list of tragic elevator incidents worldwide. The funicular, a Lisbon symbol, had been accident-free in its nearly 140-year history. Wednesday’s incident, on September 3, was deemed foreseeable due to circumstances like the lack of investment in Carris.
Although designed 140 years ago to assist residents navigating the steep hill connecting Restauradores and Bairro Alto, the Glória Funicular became a popular tourist attraction. It drew more tourists than locals, a point of criticism exacerbated by the recent tragedy.
