Crews have begun dismantling and removing the stricken Lisbon streetcar which crashed on Wednesday killing 16 people.

Workers loaded the broken panels of the streetcar onto removal trucks in Lisbon's steep narrow streets.

Earlier, Portuguese officials sifted through the wreckage, trying to determine why the popular tourist attraction derailed during the busy summer season.

21 people were injured, five of them seriously.

Prime Minister Luis Montenegro called the derailment “one of the biggest tragedies of our recent past.”

Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas meanwhile said “the city needs answers.”

The Elevador da Gloria derailed during the evening rush hour.

The famed electric streetcar, also known as a funicular, provides a short and picturesque trip a few hundred meters up and down a steep city street.