A preliminary investigation indicates that a connecting cable broke before Wednesday’s deadly funicular crash in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon that killed at least 16 people and injured several others.

A probe conducted by the Office for the Prevention and Investigation of Accidents in Civil Aviation and Rail (GPIAAF) found that a steel cable connecting the historic Glória funicular’s two carriages had “given way” shortly after they began their respective journeys along Calçada da Glória, the narrow street where the funicular operated.

A scheduled inspection had been conducted on the morning of the incident, which detected “no anomalies in the vehicles’ cable or braking systems,” the report, published Saturday, said. It added that it was “not possible” to see the condition of the se

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