British couple killed in Lisbon funicular crash named

Two of the three Britons killed in the Lisbon funicular crash have been named.

Kayleigh Smith, 36, and William Nelson, 44, were a couple and died alongside 14 others in Wednesday’s incident.

Ms Smith graduated from the Arden School of Theatre in Manchester, where Mr Nelson worked as a theatre director.

The identity of the third British victim has not yet been confirmed.

Five Portuguese citizens also died when the carriage plummeted down the hill, but most of those killed were foreigners.

Police said the other fatalities were two Canadians, two South Koreans, one American, one French citizen, one Swiss and one Ukrainian.

All but one of the victims was declared dead at the scene – and 22 others in the carriage were also injured.

The yellow carriages of the Gloria funicular are a big draw for tourists, as well as a proud symbol of the Portuguese capital.

The journey is just 265m (870ft) up a steep hill and takes three minutes, with two carriages travelling in opposite directions on a cable.

The aftermath of the crash shows one of the carriages crumpled and twisted against the side of a building.

Witnesses reported seeing it hurtle down the hill before leaving the tracks and crashing 30m from the bottom of the line.

People who were in the bottom carriage said they were a few metres into their ascent when the it started going backwards.

When they saw the other car speeding towards them, they jumped through the windows to escape.

Read more:
Everything we know about the Lisbon crash

Prime Minister Luis Montenegro called it “one of the biggest tragedies of our recent past” and authorities are under intense pressure to quickly identifying the cause.

“Today is a day of pain. No words are sufficient to heal your loss and to fill the void that has been left behind by those who have departed,” he said.