The historic Glória funicular in Lisbon, Portugal, derailed earlier this month in a devastating accident that killed at least 16 people and injured more than 20 others.
Survivors and grieving families are now sharing heartbreaking stories of their final moments with loved ones.
Among the victims was 42-year-old Canadian citizen Aziz Benharref, originally from Morocco.
A Wife Recalls Her Husband’s Final Words
His wife, Hind Iguernane, survived the crash but remains hospitalized with serious injuries, including a fractured hip and shoulder.
“We sat next to each other,” Iguernane told CTV News from her hospital bed.
“I was supposed to sit in his place, and he said, ‘No, just move a bit and I will be there,’ because it was more comfortable for me.”
When the funicular suddenly derailed on September 3, she lost sight of him.
“It was very scary,” she said.
”It crashed. I didn’t see him. I called him; I was calling Aziz and he didn’t answer.”
Iguernane says she spent days asking about her husband’s condition.
“I kept asking, and for like two nights nobody knows or at least he didn’t told me what happened to him," she said.
"They were just telling me, ‘We’re all looking for him, we keep looking for him.’”
Benharref’s death was later confirmed.
According to a GoFundMe campaign, he died from traumatic injuries.
He will be buried in Morocco, where Iguernane will also be transferred to continue her recovery.
“He’s one of the sweetest human beings ever,” she said.
“He was kind to everyone. He was generous, hardworking, respectful. He was a great husband. He loved Canada.”
Victims From Around the World
The crash also claimed the lives of André Bergeron of Quebec and his wife, Blandine Daux, a permanent Canadian resident and French citizen.
André’s brother, Eric Bergeron, told CBC News that the couple were on the last day of their holiday in Portugal when tragedy struck.
Officials say at least 11 of the injured were foreign nationals, with victims from Germany, Spain, Canada, France, Cabo Verde, Italy, Switzerland, Morocco, and South Korea.
A child was also hospitalized but was not critically injured.
Eyewitnesses Describe Runaway Tram
Witnesses reported hearing a loud bang before one of the tram’s two cars sped out of control down Rua da Glória, a steep slope in Lisbon’s historic center.
“We went to help people and see what was happening, and then we saw that the other tram was coming down the slope out of control. We only had time to run out of the way,” one woman told SIC news.
She added: “Sadly, I saw there was a man on the pavement at the precise point where the tram smashed into the building.”
Another witness described the devastating impact: “It hit a building with brutal force and collapsed like a cardboard box; it had no brakes.”
The derailment also struck pedestrians and vehicles. Cars were flipped in the collision as emergency workers rushed to rescue those trapped inside.