Israelis Killed in Italy Cable Car Disaster Named as Child Fights for Life

An Israeli child on Monday was still battling for his life in Italy after his baby brother, parents and maternal great-grandparents all perished when a cable car slammed into the side of a mountain in an Alpine resort town.

The accident in Stresa occurred on Sunday afternoon as the cable car, with 15 people aboard and a maximum capacity of 35, was about 100 meters from the summit. Fourteen out of 15 passengers, including five Israelis, lost their lives in the incident.

The Israeli victims have been identified as Amit Biran, 30, his wife Tal, 26, their two-year-old son Tom, and both of the mother’s grandparents – Yitzchak, 81, and Barbara Cohen, 71. The only survivor of the tragedy is the young couple’s five-year-old son Eitan, who was very seriously injured and is currently hospitalized at Turin’s Regina Margherita hospital.

The child is currently being cared for by Amit’s sister Aya, while Tal’s brother and father were set to fly to Italy later in the day.

According to relatives, Amit and Tal lived in the city of Fabia in the province of Lombardy in northern Italy. Amit studied medicine there, and worked as a security guard at a Jewish school in the city.