A split decision on a popular tourist attraction in Lisbon, Portugal, ended up saving a woman’s life but cost her husband’s. Canadian travelers Hind Iguernane and Aziz Benharre decided to ride the Elevador da Glória funicular, a historic system of railway tram cars, but tragedy struck. One of the streetcars on the system derailed and crashed into a building.
Officials say the crash occurred because of a faulty cable, according to a report from the Office for the Prevention and Investigation of Accidents in Civil Aviation and Rail shared September 6, 2025.
“From the on-site study of the wreckage, it was immediately clear that the cable connecting the two cabins had given way at its attachment point inside the upper trambolho of cabin #1,” the agency stated in the report.
Benharre was one of the 16 people killed in the accident, while Iguernane was one of the 20 injured. Sadly, two other Canadian citizens, André Bergeron and his wife, Blandine Daux, died as well.
“We sat next to each other,” Iguernane told CTV News from her hospital bed, where she’s recovering from a fractured hip and shoulder. “I was supposed to sit in his place, and he said, ‘No, just move a bit and I will be there,’ because it was more comfortable for me.”
Iguernane told the outlet that it took her days to learn of her husband’s death, saying she was floating in and out of consciousness.
“I kept asking, and for like two nights nobody knew or at least didn’t tell me what happened to him,” she said. “They were just telling me, ‘We’re all looking for him, we keep looking for him.’”
Iguernane’s brother, Youness Iguernane, turned to social media and got help from strangers to find his brother-in-law.
“I started searching Facebook groups, the Moroccan groups, to see if someone could help us, and thank God, I found two guys from Algeria and another girl from Morocco,” Youness told CTV News. “He took his bike and checked all of the hospitals, around seven or eight.”
Ayoub Sajjaa, Benharre’s close friend of more than 20 years, alleges Canadian officials could have done more to help. He claimed Benharre’s death was not announced by Global Affairs Canada when it released information about the other two Canadian residents who died.
“They took the information we had and tried to get information, but we didn’t get any help from them,” Sajjaa claimed. “It was really frustrating because the whole night we tried to find solutions on our own. We reached out to people on Facebook, Instagram, anyone who lives in Portugal, basically. And we got help from people we had never known before. It was really sad because we were saying, ‘Oh Canada, can you help us?’”
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help Iguernane cover essential expenses, medical costs, and everyday needs as she recovers and mourns the loss of her husband.
“He’s one of the sweetest human beings ever,” Iguernane told CTV News. “He was kind to everyone. He was generous, hardworking, respectful. He was a great husband. He loved Canada.”
