Portugal announces 11 foreigners and five Portuguese nationals as victims of the Lisbon tram crash.

Arabian Sea Newspaper - Special

Arabian Gulf_AFP: Portuguese authorities announced on Friday that 11 foreigners were among the 16 people who died in a cable car accident after it derailed in Lisbon this week. Three Britons, two South Koreans, two Canadians, a French, a Swiss, an American, and a Ukrainian, in addition to five Portuguese, were killed in the tragedy that occurred on Wednesday, according to police. The police added that, contrary to information released the previous day, there were no German citizens among the victims, but there were three among the injured, including a three-year-old child. In total, the number of injured reached about 20 people, including at least 11 foreigners, according to emergency services. Among the Portuguese victims were four employees of a social welfare institution whose offices are located at the top of the steep road taken by the cable car. The causes of the accident are still unknown, but several media outlets have indicated the possibility that the safety cable may have broken, and raised questions about the quality of maintenance that was assigned by the cable car operator to an external company. An eyewitness, whose account was reported by local media, said that one of the two cars that move up and down alternately on a steep slope using a counterweight system, reached the end of its track at an unusual speed, and slightly overshot its final station at the bottom of the hill. While the witness and a number of people at the scene were trying to help the uninjured passengers leave the car, they were surprised by the second car plummeting rapidly from the top of the hill towards them, prompting them to flee, believing it would collide with the parked car. But the car derailed at a small bend and violently crashed into a nearby building, according to eyewitness accounts. The Portuguese agency responsible for investigating aviation and rail accidents was scheduled to publish its initial findings on the circumstances of the accident on Friday. But a spokesman for the agency told Lusa news agency on Friday evening, "The report cannot be published today" and may be published "on Saturday afternoon." Police investigator Nelson Oliveira said on Thursday that a more detailed preliminary report would be published "within 45 days."