According to doctors, a five-year-old boy survived a horrific cable car accident because of his father’s embrace.
Eitan Biran was in the cable car with his little brother, parents and great-grandparents and has been identified as the lone survivor of the accident.
Emergency brakes failed to kick in and prevent the cable car from going down a mountain which resulted in the death of 14 other people.
Our hearts are broken: 5 Israelis from one family, including a 2-year-old child, were among the 14 people killed in an Italian cable car crash on Sunday. Another son, 5-year-old Eitan Biran, the sole survivor of the accident, was critically injured and is currently hospitalized pic.twitter.com/LtAxtSmGeO
— StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) May 24, 2021
Eitan is recovering in hospital, but according to a spokesperson from the hospital, early indications were that his father saved his life.
“In order to be able to survive the terrible impact, it is likely that the father, who was of robust build, wrapped his son in a hug,” the spokesperson said to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
The disaster occurred in one of the most picturesque spots in Northern Italy and has raised questions about the safety of Italy’s transport infrastructure.
Italian Transport Minister Enrico Giovannini has called for a commission of inquiry to investigate the “technical and organisation causes” after visiting the site of the disaster while prosecutors will focus on criminal blame.
This article originally appeared on Over60.