Not in Madeira but I know many of you visit Lisbon and have been following this story.
The cable of the Glória elevator, in Lisbon, which did not meet the required specifications, had been in use since 2022, according to the preliminary GPIAAF report, which changes the initial information that it had been in use “for about six years”.
The Expresso newspaper reported today that the municipal company Carris “gave incorrect information to the investigation into the accident with the Glória elevator”, making an analysis between the information note from the Office for the Prevention and Investigation of Aircraft and Railway Accidents (GPIAAF), released three days after the tragedy, and the preliminary report from the GPIAAF, completed within 45 days and released on Monday.
The derailment of the Glória elevator, managed by the municipal company Carris, occurred on September 3 and caused 16 deaths and two dozen injuries, including Portuguese and foreigners of various nationalities.
The GPIAAF information note stated that the type of cable present in this elevator had been used “for about six years”, but this information was clarified in the preliminary report, with the indication that this type of cable had been used since “December 2022”, adding that it did not comply with Carris specifications, nor was it certified for use in transporting people.
The date initially announced regarding the use of this type of cable pointed to 2019, which blamed the previous management of Carris, as well as the former mayor of Lisbon, Fernando Medina (PS), since the municipality is the sole shareholder of this public transport company.
In response to the Expresso news, the current management of Carris — under the leadership of Pedro de Brito Bogas, who resigned on Wednesday, a resignation that was accepted by the Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas (PSD) — clarified today that “it never provided the information alluded to in the news, firstly because at the time it was investigating the facts regarding the acquisition of the cable”.
“The aforementioned data is not included in the vast documentation that Carris sent to the GPIAAF as part of the investigation. The Carris board of directors has not, to date, been questioned by the GPIAAF as part of the investigation,” the municipal company said in a statement.
Lusa attempted to obtain a reaction from the office of the Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas (PSD), who referred the matter to Carris.
Speaking to the Lusa news agency, the newly elected PS councilor Alexandra Leitão said, however, that “providing incorrect information to the office that inspects accidents, whether deliberately or not, is very serious.”
Alexandra Leitão considered the change in dates regarding the use of this type of cable, from 2019 to 2022, to be also relevant in the political plan, highlighting that the first GPIAAF document was released before the local elections of October 12 and “had an incorrect date, because, deliberately or not, Carris provided this incorrect information”.
“This is also incorrect information, whether deliberately or not, which obviously objectively benefited the then candidate Carlos Moedas, who used it to evade responsibility, as he has done throughout this process,” declared the socialist, recalling that the current and re-elected mayor of Lisbon “was very quick and very quick to, without speculating, shake off the water from his coat” when the GPIAAF information note came out, attributing responsibility to the previous 2017-2021 municipal term, led by the PS.