An orphaned five-year-old boy cried “where’s my mum” after his parents, younger brother and great-grandparents were killed in a horror cable car plunge in Italy.
Traumatised schoolboy Eitan Biran was the only survivor of Sunday afternoon’s tragedy which left 14 people dead on a mountainside in the Western Alps.
It is thought that Eitan’s dad Amit Biran, 30, wrapped his son in his arms to protect him – saving his life in the process – as the car fell 65ft, rolled down the steep slope and slammed into trees.
Eitan’s father, mum Tal Peleg-Biran, 26, brother Tom, two, and maternal great-grandparents – Barbara Cohen Konisky, 71, and Yitzhak Cohen, 81, who were visiting from Tel Aviv – were all killed.
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The family was from Israel but had been living in northern Italy, where Mr Biran worked at a clinic in Pavia and Ms Peleg-Biran, a psychology graduate, looked after their sons.
Eitan was airlifted to a children’s hospital in Turin, where he underwent surgery and continued to receive treatment for serious head and leg injuries on Monday, as the investigation into the crash continued.
His aunt Aya Biran, a doctor who also lives in Italy, told La Stampa that her nephew said “I’m scared, don’t touch me” and “where is my mum” to medics before he was sedated.
(Image: Vigili del Fuoco/AFP via Getty I)
It was unclear how much Eitan knows about the crash and the fate of his parents, brother and great-grandparents.
It is said the great-grandparents had decided to visit family in Italy when the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza erupted earlier this month.
Eitan’s condition was critical but stable, and he was intubated on an intensive care unit following surgery, a hospital official told La Stampa.
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It is thought Eitan was saved by his father wrapping his arms around him to protect him as the cable car plunged to the ground, the report added.
A nine-year-old child, who was airlifted to the same hospital, died despite efforts to save them.
The cable car fell as it approached a station on top of the Mottarone mountain following a 20-minute journey from the town of Stresa, on Lake Maggiore.
Matteo Gasparini, of Italy’s Alpine rescue service, said a cable broke and the emergency brake failed.
Stresa Mayor Marcella Severino said people hiking nearby heard a loud hiss just before the crash.
The accident was believed to have been caused by one of the cables breaking, she added.
Ms Severino said some of the victims had been found trapped inside the crumpled car, with others thrown into the woods.
(Image: Vigili del Fuoco/AFP via Getty I)
Prosecutors in Milan have opened an investigation into involuntary homicide and negligence.
The cable car service opened in 1970 and closed for maintenance between 2014 and 2016, according to local media.
It reopened a month before the crash following the easing of lockdown measures in Italy.
A lawyer for the operator, Ferrovie del Mottarone, told reporters that the cable car system had undergone regular maintenance and checks.
The cables were not due to be replaced until 2029, the lawyer added.