Lisbon’s landmark streetcar derails, killing 15 people

An electric streetcar that is one of Lisbon’s landmarks and a big draw for tourists derailed on Wednesday, killing 15 people and injuring 18 others, emergency services said.

Five of the injured were in serious condition and a child was among the injured, the National Institute for Medical Emergencies said in a statement. An unknown number of foreigners were among the injured, it said.

Authorities called it an accident, the worst in the city’s recent history, and it cast a pall over Lisbon’s charm for the millions of foreign tourists who arrive every year.

The yellow-and-white streetcar, which is known as Elevador da Gloria and which goes up and down a steep downtown hill in tandem with one going the opposite way, was lying on its side on the narrow road that it travels along.

Its sides and top were partially crumpled, and it appeared to have crashed into a building where the road bends. Parts of the vehicle, made mostly of metal, were crushed.

Several dozen emergency workers were at the scene but most stood down after about two hours.