At least 15 people have died and about 18 are injured after Lisbon's Gloria funicular railway car - which is popular with tourists - derailed and crashed, an emergency medical service spokesman says.

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

"It's a tragic day for our city ... Lisbon is in mourning, it is a tragic, tragic incident," Carlos Moedas, mayor of the Portuguese capital, told reporters.

Footage from the site showed the yellow tram-like funicular, which carries people up and down a steep hillside in the Portuguese capital, destroyed, and emergency workers pulling people out of the wreckage.

The accident reportedly occurred at the start of the evening rush hour.

President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa lame

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