A leading community figure in Lisbon has suggested that excessive tourism may have played a part in the deadly crash of the city's historic Glória funicular.
Fabiana Pavel, an Italian, who is president of the Bairro Alto Residents' Association, said that the accident may have been caused by the pressure of tourism.
She said: 'The use of it in recent years is certainly inappropriate. It was used too much and the population lost the ability to use it as public transport, because it became a tourist attraction.'
Pavel has been a staunch campaigner against mass tourism and has said in other interviews that she believes it drives locals from their homes.
Seventeen people were killed and 21 were injured when one of the carriages came off the track and slammed into a hotel yesterday evening.
