'I missed Lisbon funicular commute that killed my buddy'

[ad_1] As Sonia Silva ready to go away work on Wednesday night, she was requested by a colleague to assist with a fast activity.

It meant she missed her common funicular journey down the hill with a piece buddy on their commute dwelling from the workplace within the centre of Lisbon.

When she arrived on the cease a short time later, the funicular had crashed and her buddy was lifeless.

"Once I received there, it was a tragedy," she mentioned.

Sixteen individuals had been killed on Wednesday night in Lisbon when its iconic 140-year-old Glória funicular derailed and crashed right into a constructing. The Portuguese prime minister has described it as "one of many largest human tragedies of our current historical past".

A lot of these killed had been international nationals, together with three British individuals whose identities haven't but been introduced. Police say 5 killed had been Portuguese - and 4 of them labored on the Santa Casa da Misericórdia charity, positioned on the prime of the hill.

A service was held on Friday in a church subsequent to the charity's headquarters, honouring the employees killed within the crash. The service was crowded, with individuals filling the aisles and some other accessible area.

As they left, colleagues wept and supported one another as they tried to make sense of what had occurred. A number of instructed the BBC that they frequently used the funicular as a part of their commute.

Sitting on a bench exterior, Sonia mentioned she had labored on the charity for eight years and used the funicular every day.

"I am unable to categorical [how I feel] - it's extremely tough. I'm grateful however on the similar time I am very, very offended as a result of my colleagues and many individuals died," she mentioned.

She mentioned she would journey to and from work every day along with her colleague Sandra Coelho.

"I used to be very keen on her as a result of I at all times took the funicular along with her - going dwelling and within the morning. It is very tough as a result of I am not going to see her anymore," she mentioned by tears, as colleagues comforted her.

On their commute, she mentioned the 2 ladies would gossip and discuss their days.

"We would discuss colleagues, work, every part. We would meet within the morning and after we completed," she mentioned.

Others across the church additionally mourned the lack of pals and tried to course of what had occurred.

"It is terrible, we're devastated. It is tough to work in the mean time," mentioned Lurdes Henriques.

"We're at all times enthusiastic about our colleagues and questioning 'did they endure?' They could possibly be right here with us now. We're deeply, deeply unhappy."

"It may have been any considered one of us - all of us used this sort of transport and we felt very assured in it," mentioned Tania, one other employee on the charity.

Rui Franco, a metropolis councillor whose shut buddy and former colleague Alda Matias was killed in Wednesday's crash, mentioned he was in shock.

"She was about my age. She had a household, kids and I am unable to think about if it was me what can be occurring to my household. She was an amazing individual… with a really strong manner of performing on the earth," he mentioned.

Mr Franco mentioned he was "already offended" when he first realized of the deadly crash, "then once I understood I knew the individuals concerned, the craze [became] overwhelming".

Whereas an investigation into the reason for the crash is beneath manner, there was a lot hypothesis amongst mourners.

"It was at all times overcrowded," one mentioned, whereas one other blamed poor upkeep.

The chief of the rail employees union Fectrans claimed that some employees had complained that issues with the strain of the cable that hauls the carriages had made braking tough.

"Even planes fall out of the sky generally. Accidents occur," mentioned one other girl.

A number of instructed the BBC that regardless of the trigger, they may not think about utilizing the funicular once more.

"I've instructed everybody I am not going to make use of it anymore," mentioned Sonia earlier than heading again into the workplace, flanked by work pals.