Portugal declared a day of national mourning on Thursday, a day after one of Lisbon's iconic electric funiculars derailed in the capital city, leaving 16 people dead and 21 injured.

The Gloria funicular — a yellow railway car which travels up and down a steep slope in central Lisbon — swerved off its tracks near Avenida da Liberdade and crashed into a building on Wednesday.

Authorities deemed the accident the worst in the city's recent history.

"This is one of the greatest human tragedies in our recent history," Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said in a TV broadcast.

What do we know about the victims of the accident in Lisbon?

Portuguese authorities had initially updated the death toll to 17, later revising it down to 16.

Portugal's National Institute for Medical Emergencies said some of those injured in the incident were in a serious condition.

Judicial police chief Luis Neves during a press conference said that 23 people were hospitalized in the incident, of which 13 sustained light injuries and 10 were seriously injured.

Neves said that three of those seriously injured were Portuguese citizens, while the others were from Germany, South Korea, Switzerland, Cape Verde and Morocco.

The Prosecutor General's office said that the bodies of five Portuguese, two South Koreans and one Swiss citizen had been identified.

Neves said that while their identities had not yet been officially confirmed, there was a "high possibility" that two Canadians, one American, one German and one Ukrainian were among the dead.

Later, the US State Department confirmed in a statement that an American citizen was among the victims.

"Our staff in Lisbon and here in the United States are working tirelessly to provide consular assistance to the victim and their family," the Reuters news agency quoted the State Department as saying.

Portugal's prime minister said state airline TAP had offered to provide transport for the families of the victims and to repatriate those injured and killed.

Lisbon grieves funicular accident victims

The incident occurred at the start of the evening rush hour, around 6 p.m. local time (1700 UTC/GMT), and victims were reported to have been pulled out of the wreckage in just over two hours.

Visuals circulated on social media throughout the night of rescuers working around the damaged funicular, which was seen flipped on its side against a wall on the street.

President Marcelo Rebelo said Lisbon was in mourning.

"It's a tragedy of the like we've never seen," he said. 

Prime Minister Luis Montenegro's office said the accident had "brought grief to... families and dismay to the country."

Lisbon's Catholic Patriarch Rui Valerio said he was shocked at the crash, wished the injured a speedy recovery, expressed "his solidarity with their families" and thanked rescue teams for their efforts.

Authorities launch investigation

Meanwhile, a probe into the cause of the accident is ongoing.

Carris, the company that operates the streetcar, said scheduled maintenance had been conducted on the funicular.

"Everything was scrupulously respected," Pedro Bogas, the head of Lisbon Carris, said at the site of the crash.

Lisbon's City Council halted operations of other streetcars in the city and ordered immediate inspections, according to local media reports.

Portuguese authorities on Thursday suspended Lisbon's three other funiculars for safety checks.

"As instructed by Mayor Carlos Moedas, yesterday it was decided to halt operations of the Bica and Lavra funiculars, as well as the Graca funicular, to check the conditions and safety of their operations," municipal civil protection spokeswoman Margarida Castro said.

On Wednesday, Moedas declared three days of mourning in the Portuguese capital.

Former Portuguese PM Costa among leaders to express condolences

Flags flew at half-mast in Lisbon and at the European Union institutions in Brussels on Thursday while several EU leaders expressed their condolences on social media.

"The tragic accident on the Elevador da Gloria has shaken Europe deeply," European Parliament President Roberta Metsola wrote on X.

"My thoughts are with the victims, with their loved ones, and with the injured, to whom I wish a swift recovery," said European Council President Antonio Costa, a Portuguese former prime minister. "I extend my heartfelt condolences to Portugal and to the city of Lisbon." 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also expressed her sympathy to the victims' families.

"It is with sadness that I learned of the derailment of the famous 'Elevador da Gloria.' My condolences to the families of the victims," she wrote on X.

The Gloria first went into service in 1885. It shuttles commuters between an area of downtown Lisbon near Restauradores Square and Bairro Alto (Upper Quarter), famous for its bustling nightlife.

Edited by: Sean Sinico