Kayleigh Smith and her partner Will Nelson were two of three Brits killed in the Lisbon funicular crash, which saw the popular tourist attraction derailed in the centre of the city
A Brit who died in the Lisbon funicular crash had shared an idyllic post on Instagram just hours before the tragedy.
Kayleigh Smith’s last post on the social media site consisted of several blissful photographs taken during her holiday in Portugal with partner Will Nelson. Will, 44 and a lecturer at Manchester’s Arden School of Theatre, also died in the accident, which saw the popular tourist attraction derailed in the centre of Lisbon.
The post was captioned: “Churches and castles, tiles and trams” – yet it was a crash in one of the trams that led to Kayleigh’s death just hours after the joyful Instagram share. A total of 16 people died in the smash, including three Brits. The third Brit has yet to be named by authorities.
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Also among the dead were five Portuguese nationals, two Canadians, two South Koreans, one American, one French, one Swiss and one Ukrainian. A further 21 people were injured, including five seriously.
Kayleigh, 36, was a member of MADS Theatre in Macclesfield, Cheshire, which posted online a tribute on Friday night. It read: “It is with great sadness that we must acknowledge the death of Kayleigh Smith and her partner Will Nelson in the Lisbon funicular tragedy.
“Kayleigh was a valued member of our society and made considerable contributions both to MADS and to drama in the North West. It is indeed a sad loss to all of us at the theatre.
“Kayleigh was an award-winning director and an award-nominated actress. She also undertook multiple crew and front-of-house roles at MADS. She was a past vice-chair, membership secretary and head of tech, but above all that, she was a dear friend to many and will be greatly missed. We wish to send our deepest condolences to both families, and to respect their privacy at this sad time. Our thoughts are with them.”
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A No 10 spokesman said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is “deeply saddened” that three British nationals died. He said: “His thoughts are with their families and those affected by this terrible incident. We stand united with Portugal during this difficult time.”
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: “We are supporting the families of three British nationals who have died following an incident in Lisbon, and are in contact with the local authorities.”
The Gloria funicular, which is 140-years-old, was packed with passengers when it came off the rails. Portugal’s Prime Minister Luis Montenegro described the incident as “one of the biggest tragedies of our recent past”.