A tragic accident occurred today, September 3, in Lisbon, at 6:00 PM.
The Glória Elevator, which connects Restauradores to Príncipe Real in Lisbon, derailed late Wednesday afternoon. There are 17 dead and 21 injured (seven in serious condition and 13 with minor injuries). Updated number (September 4). Among the minor injuries is a child. The mayor of Lisbon canceled Thursday's schedule. The government assures that it has been monitoring the situation "from the very beginning" and has declared national mourning for Thursday. The President of the Republic is requesting clarification. Follow the latest developments on the tragic accident here, live and minute by minute.
Sources: Telegraph, SIC Notícias.
The cause of the accident:
It was determined that a steel cable broke. Two carriages (or wagons) of the Elevador da Glória cross midway to act as a counterweight—one ascends while the other descends, ensuring they are always balanced and in sync. When a cable on the carriage at the top of the ride broke, the carriage plummeted downward and crashed into the wall of a building, collapsing.
Lack of maintenance?
Manuel Leal, a union leader at Fectrans and STRUP, states that workers at "Carris," the company responsible for the funicular elevators, constantly complain about the elevators' maintenance. Maintenance has reportedly been outsourced to a private company.
"The workers themselves were, in fact, reporting these differences in terms of maintenance performed by Carris workers a few years ago and the differences in maintenance performed today, particularly with repeated complaints from workers there about the tension levels of the elevators' support cables," he added.
Source: Sapo Notícias.
New data indicates that on August 31st, Carris let its contract with the company responsible for safety maintenance on four elevators (Glória, Bica, Lavra, and Santa Justa) expire—without a renewal being guaranteed. A public tender launched in April was valued at €1.2 million for three years, but Carris found it too expensive.
Update- 12 September
Engineers from the Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) confirmed to the Expresso newspaper that the original steel cable was replaced six years ago with a cheaper one with a fiber core.
And that changes everything! This cable has lower strength and a considerably shorter lifespan.
Over time, the cable lost strength in the area where it was clamped to the trampoline due to factors such as heat, vibration, and material deformation. According to experts, Carris should have tested the new mooring system after replacing the cable—something that, apparently, was not done.
(Source: SIC)
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