Two British individuals who were part of the group of 16 victims in the tram accident tragedy in Lisbon have been identified. The deceased are Kayleigh Gillian Smith, aged 36, and William Nelson, aged 44, who were vacationing together in Portugal. Additionally, a third British citizen lost their life in the incident. Authorities in Portugal have confirmed that no British nationals were among the 22 individuals who sustained injuries.
The catastrophic event occurred on Wednesday evening when a 140-year-old tram descended rapidly down a steep slope, collided with a building, and crumpled before overturning on a cobblestone street, just a short distance away from another tram packed with tourists.
The couple had boarded the popular tourist tram around 6 pm for a day of sightseeing in Lisbon. Prior to the tragedy, Kayleigh shared a series of photos on her Instagram account, captioning them with: “Churches and castles, tiles and trams.”
Reports indicate that the pair had arrived in Portugal just the day before the fatal accident. William was a lecturer at the Arden School of Theatre in Manchester, where Kayleigh had recently graduated from.
A close friend of Kayleigh, Lesley Guymer, expressed, “Such a unique lady, truly delightful. I’ve known her since her teenage years. And Will was a remarkable man. With a big beard, charming, incredibly lovely. A wonderful family. The entire family.”
Authorities revealed that among the deceased were five Portuguese nationals, three Brits, two South Koreans, two Canadians, one American, one Ukrainian, one Swiss citizen, and one French individual.
Sir Keir Starmer extended his condolences, stating he was deeply saddened by the tragedy. He conveyed, “His thoughts are with their families and those impacted by this terrible incident. We stand in solidarity with Portugal during this challenging period.” Portugal’s Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, described the crash as “one of the most significant tragedies in recent memory.”
The fatal accident is believed to have been triggered by a cable malfunction on one of the tram cars. Passengers found themselves trapped beneath the wreckage of the iconic Gloria Funicular as it collided with a hotel in central Lisbon.
Eyewitnesses recounted how the tram, situated at the top of a steep incline, accelerated down the road before crashing into a building and collapsing. Distressing footage captured rescuers rushing to the site, while horrified bystanders shouted, “There are children under there.”
Teresa d’Avo, a witness, described to Portuguese TV channel SIC, “It collided with a building with immense force and disintegrated like a cardboard box. The impact was tremendous. It crashed with great force. It had no brakes whatsoever.”
Another witness, speaking to the respected Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha, narrated, “The lower tram was descending slowly as usual, but about a meter and a half from the bottom, its brakes failed, and that’s what alerted us, as then it hit the pavement very hard, and the occupants began to scream.”
When the witness noticed another tram approaching from above “completely out of control,” they added, “It was not moving at the normal speed at all, and we only had time to turn around and start running because we were unsure if it would collide with the tram below. The primary concern was that it might end up on the road leading to Rossio Square.”
As per Portugal’s civil protection website, 62 emergency responders and 22 vehicles were present at the crash site, near the popular tourist spot of Avenida da Liberdade.
The historic Gloria Funicular, inaugurated in 1885 as Lisbon’s second funicular, connects the lower part of the city to Bairro Alto, known as the “high neighborhood,” specifically from Praça dos Restauradores to the São Pedro de Alcantara viewpoint. Despite being electrified only in 1915, it has maintained its original charm.
Investigations in Lisbon are ongoing to reconstruct the sequence of events during the tragedy, which occurred along the cable car’s customary 2,441-foot route.
