15 DIE IN TOURIST STREETCAR HELL

18 are injured as funicular carriage derails during evening rush-hour

- BY RECORD REPORTER

FIFTEEN people were killed and 18 injured yesterday when a light railway derailed in Lisbon.

Five of those hurt were said to be in a serious condition, and a child is among the injured.

An unknown number of the injured are foreigners, according to the National Institute for Medical Emergencies.

Authorities called the accident the worst in the city’s recent history.

The carriage, on the Portuguese capital's Gloria funicular cable railway, derailed at about 6pm, the president's office said.

Witnesses told local media that the funicular careered down the hill, apparently out of control.