The last photo of a boy taken before a tragic cable car crash in Italy killed both his parents has emerged, as the boy wakes up from his coma.
It comes as three people were arrested by Italian police in an investigation into the fatal incident.
Five-year-old Eitan Biran, from Israel, was the only survivor of the crash that killed 14 people.
According to Italian newspaper La Stampa, young Eitan is reported to have asked “Where’s mum?” upon his arrival in hospital in Turin, Italy, before he was placed into a medically induced coma.
Victims of the crash include both his parents, Amit Biran, 30, and Tal Peleg-Biran, 26, and Eitan’s two-year-old brother Tom.
Tal’s grandparents Barbara, 71, and Yitzhak Cohen, 81, also died in the crash.
In a haunting final photo taken moments before the crash, Eitan can be seen looking out the window of the cable car in northern Italy, standing next to his great-grandfather, moments before the crash, according to The Sun.
The cable car was travelling from Stresa, on Lake Maggiore, to Mottarone mountain in Italy’s Alps.
Investigators said on Monday their initial probe into the disaster would look into how the lead cable snapped and why a safety brake mechanism failed to activate.
The cable car was approaching a station on top of the 4,900ft Mottarone mountain when it plunged, rolled down the steep terrain and crashed into trees.
It is believed the lead cable tragically snapped as it approached its final stop in the 20-minute trip.
Italian prosecutors have opened an investigation into suspected involuntary manslaughter and negligence.
Public prosecutor Olimpia Bossi said: “We are starting from the empirical evidence. The cable sheared and the system of safety brakes clearly did not work,”
(Image: Vigili del Fuoco/AFP via Getty I)
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Enrico Giovannini visited the area on Monday and said the government would also set up a commission to look into Italy’s worst cable car disaster since 1998.
That year 20 people died after a low-flying US warplane accidentally cut through a supporting cable.
He said: “The government, as well all the institutions, are naturally committed to understanding the causes, to understanding what happened.”
(Image: Facebook)
The cable car underwent major maintenance work between 2014 and 2016. Checks were carried out in 2017 and again last year by specialist technicians.
Italian media reported that the wires were not due to be replaced until 2029.
The cabin could hold up to 40 people, but was less than half full because of restrictions to prevent COVID-19 infections.
The lift station had been closed much of the winter because of coronavirus and had reopened last month.