At least 16 dead, 21 injured after streetcar derails in Lisbon, city says

At least 16 people are dead and another 21 injured after a streetcar derailed in Portugal's capital on Wednesday, officials said.

Several of those killed on the famed funicular, known as the Elevador da Gloria, were foreigners, Portuguese police confirmed Thursday.

They include one American, one German, one Ukrainian and two Canadians, police said during a press briefing.

“We've had phone calls from people looking for their loved ones," Director of the Portuguese Judicial Police Luis Neves said during the briefing.

Five Portuguese, two Koreans and one Swiss are confirmed to be among those killed, according to the Public Ministry.

Neves said they are working to identify the three remaining victims.

The injured include a 3-year-old child, according to an official.

Among those injured, six people remain in the intensive care unit Thursday, with three in good condition, according to the Portuguese Public Ministry.

The popular yellow-and-white tram is one of several funiculars in Lisbon that travel up and down the city's steep streets.

The incident happened around 6:15 p.m. local time Wednesday, when one of the funicular's two streetcars derailed and crashed, officials said. The rescue mission lasted around two hours, a Public Ministry official told ABC News.

It appears the safety cable on the electric streetcar broke, causing the car to derail, Lisbon's communications department said, based on preliminary information. The investigation into the cause is ongoing.

The tram cabin that derailed can hold up to 40 people. It is unclear how many total people were on board.

The city's public transport operator, Carris, said it complied with all maintenance protocols, including daily inspections, for the Elevador da Gloria.

Pedro de Brito Bogas, the head of Carris, said Thursday that it has opened an internal investigation involving external consultants, at the request of the city's mayor.

"At the same time, Carris is willing to collaborate with all the competent entities that are conducting investigations," he said.

All the other funiculars of the city have been suspended and "will go under a rigorous technical inspection carried out by an external entity in the coming days,” he said.

The CEO reiterated that the cause of the crash remains under investigation and it cannot be assumed "that the problem lies with the cable."

Swiss tourist Rasha Abdo told ABC News she was traveling on the funicular's other streetcar with her husband and 3-year-old son when the crash occurred. She said they were near the bottom of the hill, traveling uphill, when they suddenly reversed direction.

She said they heard the other streetcar barreling down the hill toward them, so her husband jumped out the window and she passed their son to him to ensure his safety, before realizing the car had crashed farther uphill.

Her husband, who is a doctor, went to the streetcar to try and assist, but "it was too late," she said.   “I'm really grateful that we are still alive, but on the other side, I'm very sad for the people that lost their lives," she said.

The mayor of Lisbon declared a three-day period of mourning.

"I offer my sincere condolences to all the families and friends of the victims. Lisbon is in mourning," Mayor Carlos Moedas said in a statement.

Portugal's Prime Minister's Office also declared a national day of mourning for Thursday, expressing its "deep dismay" over the accident, and said it is in contact with local officials.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also expressed her condolences.

"It is with sadness that I learned of the derailment of the famous 'Elevador da Glória,'" she said in a statement. "My condolences to the families of the victims."

ABC News' Tom Soufi Burridge and Hugo Leengardt contributed to this report.