Inspectors investigating the deadly streetcar crash in Lisbon, Portugal, found that two cabins lost stability after the cable linking them disconnected before the funicular came off its rails and killed 16 people Wednesday, including two Canadians.

The Portuguese government’s office for air and rail accident investigations said in a preliminary technical report that the cabins had travelled not more than about six metres, when they suddenly lost the balancing force provided by the cable connecting them.

The office explained that the second cabin turned the other way around while the first cabin kept accelerating in speed despite the brakeman's efforts to stop the car.

The second cabin then rolled to the left in the direction of travel, eventually losing control and crashing against the

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