A Lisbon funicular derailed on Wednesday, killing at least 15 people and injuring 18 others in one of the citys busiest tourist areas, emergency services said. Images showed the iconic yellow Gloria car overturned on a steep street as firefighters and medics rushed to the scene.

At least 15 people died and around 18 were injured on Wednesday when Lisbon's Gloria funicular railway car, which is popular with tourists, derailed and crashed, an emergency medical service spokesman told reporters.

Authorities would not identify the victims or disclose their nationalities, but said some foreign nationals were among the dead.

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said in a statement that several people had died and more were injured, without providing further details.

Lisbon's mayor called it an "unprecedented tragedy".

Images from the scene showed the yellow funicular car overturned on a steep street, with scores of firefighters and medical personnel at the scene.

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The accident happened at 6:15 pm (1715 GMT) local time near Liberty Avenue.

The SIC television channel quoted a person as saying that the funicular hit a building as it sped down the steep street "at full speed".

"It hit a building with brutal force and collapsed like a cardboard box; it had no brakes," the woman said.

The funicular cars are popular with tourists and locals alike to get up and down Lisbon's steep streets.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)

Originally published on France24