Correio da Manhã tabloid has quite literally lifted the lid on a hugely inconvenient truth pertaining to the Glória funicular that crashed last week, killing 16 – the majority of them foreigners.
“Nothing impedes access to the underground space holding the controls of the ‘Elevador da Glória’. All that is required is the strength of a man to lift the iron cover to enter the technical compartment at the top of Calçada da Glória (the street up and down which the funicular operated).”
The compartment houses “the cable reversal wheel and the security mechanisms that could have impeded the tragedy”, says the paper.
A full week on from the horror that made headlines all over the world, CM reporters were (still) able to access this compartment yesterday, without any problem at all, they explain. They were also able to remain in it, underground, “without any hindrance”.
“Witnesses guarantee that it has always been like this; anyone could sabotage the mechanism and leave without being detected”, says today’s report adding that: “Coincidentally, or not, the technical compartments of the other funiculars of Lisbon – Lavra, Bica and Santa Justa (now all closed for technical inspections) – are protected by chains, or other means of security”.
These revelations while the technical investigation by GPIAAF (the office for the Prevention and Investigation of Air and Railway accidents) goes forwards may be extremely relevant.
The basic mechanism still in place today shows “the steering wheel, which incorporates a device that cuts off the electrical power to the cabins when it detects the absence of load transmitted by the connecting cable, according to initial details (given by) GPIAAF”, says the paper.
This cut in “electrical energy within the system has the effect of automatically applying the pneumatic brake in each vehicle at maximum force. But it failed”, recalls the paper.
“The situation opens itself to possible acts of sabotage or vandalism, that have not yet been discarded by the investigation underway” – even though certain media outlets have suggested that ‘sabotage’ is out of the question.
As CM’s reporters repeat: “The entrance to the tunnel (housing Glória’s mechanism) has no surveillance whatsoever. It would be easy to enter it, and stay for hours without being detected, particularly at night.
“The entrance to this tunnel is near the doors of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia (four workers of which were killed in the crash, while two others were injured)”.
The Santa Casa has a security guard on duty, “but only between the hours of 8am and 8pm”.
CM adds that it has “requested clarification on this security failing from Carris” (the public transportation company that contracted out Glória’s maintenance), but “did not receive a response in time for publication” in today’s newspaper.
CM’s text follows the admission by commentator Nuno Rogeiro (a specialist in geopolitics) over the weekend (on SIC’s Leste Oeste Sunday lunchtime show) that “on the night of the incident, one of the things discovered, with some horror, was that there were a lot of Israeli passports among the injured.
“I can say there were four Israeli passports, and three further Israelis with passports from other countries,” he said. “So, we are talking about seven victims, four of them slightly injured, the others not so at all … If I was a PJ investigator I would have said: “seven Israelis?”… This was something that was flagged…” very early on, Rogeiro stressed, insisting that the tragedy cannot be considered solely as a ‘terrible accident’: every scenario remains open.
Source material: Correio da Manhã/ SIC Leste Oeste
