Mocs News Reporting the news that matters most to UTC
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (mocsnews.com) — A six-year-old boy is the centre of a bitter custody battle between his maternal and paternal grandparents after his parents death due to a tragic accident.
Fourteen people, including Eitan Biran’s parents and two-year-old brother, died after a cable broke when the car slammed into a mountainside of the Piedmont region’s Mottarone Mountain on May 23.
Eitan, the sole survivor, was released from a Turin hospital after receiving treatments for his critical injuries. Since his release, Biran has been undergoing both physical therapy and psychotherapy.
Eitan and his parents were living in Italy at the time of the accident. Biran’s aunt, Aya Biran, told reporters that Eitan’s maternal grandfather took the boy on an agreed day visit, then flew him without permission to Israel.
The aunt continued by saying each party consented and agreed to having the boy back by dinner. After the arranged visit, Eitan did not return. The aunt filed a police report that night.
The maternal grandfather has yet to be reached for comment but a sister of Biran’s mother denied that the boy was abducted from his home.
“We did not abduct Eitan,” Gali Peleg told radio station 103 FM in Israel. ”We will not use that word. What happened is that we brought Eitan home.”
Aya Biran told reporters that the boy has Italian citizenship. The Italian foreign ministry has yet to comment on the case but he reportedly has an Israeli passport.
“I am certain and full of hope” that Israeli and Italian authorities will work together “to ensure his return home” to Italy, Biran told reporters.
A hearing in Israel over Eitan Biran’s guardianship status is expected to take place at a Tel Aviv family court in late September.
