Lisbon funicular brake guard among 16 killed

Portugal is reeling after 16 people died and around 20 were injured when Lisbon’s famous Glória funicular cable railway derailed on Wednesday evening.

Five of those killed were Portuguese along with three Britons, two South Koreans, two Canadians, an American, a Ukrainian, a Swiss and a French national, police say.

Police have not yet confirmed the identities of those who died, but some have been named elsewhere. Here is what we know about them.

The death of Mr Marques, who worked as the brake guard on the funicular, was reported by Portuguese transport union Sitra.

“We send our condolences to the families and friends of the victims of the accident and wish them a speedy recovery as well as the best recovery to the others injured in the accident,” the union wrote on Facebook.

He was a “dedicated, kind and happy professional, always willing to contribute to the greater good”, according to his employer Carris, which runs the funicular.

Vladimiro Santos, a childhood friend of Mr Marques, told the Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manhã he had grown up in the village of Sarnadas de São Simão in central Portugal, moving to Lisbon as a young man.

Mr Marques leaves behind a wife and two children, the newspaper reported.

The former volleyball referee was named as a victim of the crash by the Portuguese Volleyball Federation, which said it was “deeply saddened by the tragedy”.

Mr Trindade, it said, had served as leader of the Lisbon Volleyball Association as well as being a referee for it.

He had worked for the Santa Casa da Misericórdia organisation, the largest charity in Portugal.

In all, four Santa Casa da Misericórdia employees died in the crash while two others remained in hospital as of Friday.

Mr Trindade also worked in the village of Estoril – roughly 24km (14 miles) from Lisbon – as a guest professor at a higher education institute specialising in hospitality and tourism.

Theatre director Kayleigh Smith and her partner Will Nelson have been named as British victims of the Lisbon funicular crash.

MADS Theatre in Macclesfield posted a tribute on Friday night acknowledging their deaths in the tragedy, writing that Ms Smith was “a dear friend to many and will be greatly missed”.

On the morning of the crash, Ms Smith had posted a series of photos of their trip to the Portuguese capital on social media.

The UK Foreign Office said it was “supporting the families of the three British nationals who have died” and was in contact with the local authorities.

A third British victim has yet to be named.

Two residents of Quebec province in Canada have been named as victims by Quebec’s culture and communications ministry.

The ministry’s Facebook page announced “with great sadness” the deaths of Mr Bergeron and Mrs Daux – “two valued members of its community”.

Both “contributed remarkably” to the archaeology-ethnology workshop at Quebec’s Centre of Conservation (CCQ), the statement said.

Mr Bergeron was “one of the pioneers” of CCQ who devoted more than 40 years to restoration before retiring in 2022. Mrs Daux had joined the team in 2001.

“Their departure leaves a huge void in the CCQ and the Ministry of Culture and Communications,” the tribute read.

Mr Bergeron’s brother, Eric, confirmed the deaths of the married couple to multiple Canadian news outlets.

Eric told CBC the pair were visiting Portugal to celebrate André’s 70th birthday.

Eric described them as “a super nice couple, they were in love, it’s heart-breaking. My brother was a happy man, they were a happy couple.”

They leave behind two daughters who are “shattered”, he said.

Heather Hall has been named as a victim of the crash by the College of Charleston.

The college confirmed that she had worked at the South Carolina school for nearly two decades and had “blazed a trail as a special educator at the school”.

Ms Hall served on the disability board and was a “tireless advocate for equity, representation, and belonging,” its statement said.

“She believed deeply in the power of education to change lives, and she poured her wisdom, joy, and belief in others into her students and colleagues alike”.

Ms Hall leaves behind two children, who she “believed in with all her heart”.

Republican Senator Tim Scott wrote on X that he was “deeply saddened” by the news and that her “dedication to education and her contributions to our community will be remembered”.

The other employees of Santa Casa da Misericórdia who were killed have been named in Portuguese media.

Alda Matias worked at the Strategic Planning Department alongside Mr Trindade, Sandra Coelho worked in the cultural department, and Ana Paula Lopez was linked to childhood and youth projects, colleagues have told the BBC.

One employee, Valdemar Bastos, told the BBC that staff had often used the funicular, along with tourists and elderly people, rather than walking up the steep hill.

In a statement to staff, Paulo Sousa, the charity’s ombudsman, said: “It is in shock that we all find ourselves. We lost colleagues, friends, people with whom we shared our daily lives and our mission.”

Details are still emerging of the other victims.

The Ukrainian foreign ministry confirmed for the BBC Ukrainian service that a 54-year-old Ukrainian man was among the dead.

France’s foreign ministry expressed its “great sadness” following the death of a Frenchwoman.

On Thursday, Alvaro Santos Almeida, head of Portugal’s’ health service, said 23 people had been injured. Six of them were in intensive care and three had sustained minor wounds.

Three of those injured are Portuguese, one is German, one is South Korean, one is Swiss, one is Cape Verdean and one is Moroccan.

Spanish, Israeli, Brazilian, Italian and French nationals were also involved, he added.

A German family-of-three were also on board the funicular when it crashed, local media report.

Portuguese news outlet Observador previously reported that the father had been killed, but police clarified on Friday that a German citizen named as one of the dead was discovered alive in hospital.

The mother was said to be in a critical condition in hospital, and a three-year-old boy sustained minor injuries.