Lisbon man in close escape from funicular crash thought he and his family were ‘all going to die’
Lisbon resident gives terrifying eyewitness account of funicular crash
- A funicular car crash on Lisbon's Gloria railway line on Wednesday evening resulted in 16 fatalities.
- Lisbon resident Abel Esteves, his wife, and grandson narrowly escaped death when a car hurtled towards them and crashed into a building.
- Esteves recounted his terror as the second car gained "brutal speed" before impact, and described helping with rescue efforts, discovering one woman already deceased.
- The driver of the crashed funicular car, who had earlier transported Esteves, was among those who died in the incident.
- The Gloria line, a 140-year-old railway popular with tourists, connects Lisbon's downtown with the Bairro Alto, and Esteves stated he would never use it again after the traumatic experience.