Overview

• An interim report by Portugal’s GPIAAF concludes the haulage cable detached at the accident wagon’s upper attachment, causing the runaway.
• Investigators say the incident was not a cable break; the 32 mm rope with a roughly 68-tonne breaking load had been in service 337 days of an estimated 600-day life.
• The downhill car accelerated to about 60 km/h, derailed in a right-hand curve, and crashed within less than 50 seconds after departure.
• Automatic and manual braking were activated but failed to stop the car, and routine checks that morning found no anomalies in the cable or brake system.
• Sixteen people were killed and 21 injured, all victims have been identified across multiple nationalities; criminal and technical probes continue as operator Carris rejects maintenance-failure claims and investigators plan a fuller report in about 45 days and a final report within a year.