Portugal: Death toll in Gloria funicular derailment rises to 17

Lisbon, Sep 4 (IANS) Two people who were injured in the derailment of a Gloria funicular in Portugal's Lisbon have died, raising the death toll to 17, according to the Director of the Lisbon Municipal Civil Protection Service, Margarida Castro Martins, local media reported on Thursday.

The official said 15 people died in the accident on Wednesday while 23 others, who were injured, were taken to hospitals for treatment, two of whom died overnight. Of the injured, 12 people are women while seven others are men. The injured people are: four Portuguese, two Spanish, one Korean, one Cape Verdean, one Canadian, one Italian, one French, one Swiss, and one Moroccan, 'The Portugal News' reported. The nationalities of four others who have been injured in the accident has not been revealed yet.

The Gloria funicular derailed in Lisbon on Wednesday afternoon (local time). Operated by Carris, the Gloria funicular connects Restauradores to Jardim de Sao Pedro de Alcantara in Bairro Alto, a distance of approximately 265 meters, and is popular among tourists.

The Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation into the circumstances of this accident, Portugal-based RTP Radio and Television reported. The Aircraft and Railway Accident Prevention and Investigation Office, due to lack of personnel, only sent experts to the site of the accident on Thursday to probe the causes of the derailment.

The Portuguese Institute of Blood and Transplantation (IPST) has activated a contingency plan and reinforced the blood reserves of hospitals that responded to the people injured in the accident. The IPST stated that it has been monitoring the blood supply situation at hospitals that treated people who were injured in the accident to ensure they meet all emerging needs, RTP Radio and Television reported, citing Lusa news agency.

The IPST stated that so far, blood component stocks meet all emerging needs. Meanwhile, the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences activated its mass disaster response team to conduct autopsies on the bodies at an earliest.

Portugal is observing a day of national mourning on Thursday over the Gloria funicular derailment in Lisbon. The local government has also announced three days of municipal mourning. The flags of Portugal and the European Union were flown at half-mast at the European Parliament in Brussels and Strasbourg. Portugal President and PM have cancelled their today's agenda in memory of the victims of the accident.

--IANS

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