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Part of the roof of the Praça de Espanha metro in Lisbon collapsed on Tuesday on a train that was circulating with about 300 passengers inside. The crater will have resulted from the extraction of soil on the surface during a work that has been carried out there since the beginning of the year and that plans to alter the circulation in that area and build an urban park.
The municipality was quick to say that it was the fault of the work and that there is no security problem in the metro infrastructure – built in the 50s / 60s, however an investigation is already underway to understand what happened and determine responsibilities.
Four people were injured, three of whom were in a panic. Circulation in that area will only resume from Friday, after the line is cleaned and the hole is covered. The Observer explains what is already known about this incident.
INEM and Sapadores were on site
The roof of the Lisbon Metro tunnel, near the Praça de Espanha station, collapsed on Tuesday and fell on a train with about 300 passengers. It was 2:19 in the afternoon when everything happened and the driver was forced to brake sharply, causing panic among some occupants.
According to the INEM, four people were injured, two were treated at the scene and two others (a 27-year-old man and a 54-year-old woman) were taken to the hospital. Three of them were treated for the state of panic in which they were and a fourth with wounds in the arm, who was the security guard of that station.
The Blue Line was cut, however, at around 4:15 p.m., circulation was resumed (except on the Laranjeiras – Marquês de Pombal section). The Blue Line will have limited circulation and will operate in the coming days in the Reboleira – Laranjeiras and Santa Apolónia – Marquês de Pombal sections, the Lisbon Metropolitan reported in a statement.
The result of the collapse that occurred this afternoon near the Praça de Espanha station ????
Credits: @ANBPSNBP#MetroLisboa # MetroPraçadeSpain pic.twitter.com/tBEGrkLkc9– UnderLX (@UnderLX) September 29, 2020
Because in the Praça de Espanha they have been working since January 13 of this year, which will serve to alter road traffic and create a green park in that area. And it was because of these works, when the workers were removing earth on the surface of that area, that a crater was opened. Councilor Carlos Castro, for Sports, Urban Hygiene and Civil Protection, said immediately after the Metro incident that the same thing had happened “as a result of the work,” which was later confirmed in a statement from the Lisbon Metropolitan.
The president of the Lisbon Metropolitan, Vítor Domingues dos Santos, said that during the works in the Praça de Espanha “by demolishing part of the reinforced concrete structure, they perforated the gallery, which is already very old, damaging the train that was in that time to pass. “These galleries date back to the 50s / 60s.
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At the site, they will now have to remove the subway car, clean the line and repair the gallery where the hole was made with iron and concrete. Therefore, circulation will be restored on the Blue Line of the Lisbon Metro “No later than Friday morning”, The president of the Lisbon Metropolitan, Vítor Domingues dos Santos, guaranteed this Wednesday, speaking to journalists at the Lisbon City Council, at the end of a meeting with the mayor and the president of Carris this Wednesday morning.
Some images of the state of the train that was hit by debris yesterday, after the collapse of part of the tunnel roof near the Praça de Espanha station
Credits: @cmjornal#MetroLisboa # MetroPraçadeSpain pic.twitter.com/tTNPwhpl13– UnderLX (@UnderLX) September 30, 2020
The tunnels, guarantees the president of the Lisbon Metropolitan, “are all inspected” and are safe.
At this time, said the head of the Lisbon Metropolitan, the company is only waiting for a response from specialists to the proposed repair work in the “hole” left open in the tunnel, which was combined between the metro, the contractor and the National Laboratory. of Civil Engineering (LNEC).
Both the Lisbon City Council and the Lisbon Metropolitan ordered that an investigation be opened “to find out the causes that led to the event.”
Carlos Castro immediately guaranteed that Carris would create replacement routes for the now closed metro route (Laranjeiras – Marquês de Pombal). We are a family owned and operated business.Carris reinforced lines 726 and 746 to try to minimize the interruption of the Lisbon metro at Parque, São Sebastião, Praça de Espanha and Jardim Zoologico stations..
The mayor of Lisbon, Fernando Medina, wanted to make it clear that the incident was due to the works that are being carried out on the surface and that there is no problem with the structure through which this public transport circulates. “Everyone is safe and secure,” he said. The incident was the result of a “serious mistake” in an autarky job, he assumed.
At RTP3, Medina also spoke in the investigation to find out why the tunnel part of the Lisbon Metro blue line was drilled. The investigation will be coordinated by an engineer appointed by the president of the Order of Engineers, detailed Fernando Medina, in statements cited by RTP3.
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