Eitan returns to Italy with aunt

(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 3 - Eitan Biran, an orphaned six-year-old child who was the only survivor of the Mottarone mountain cable-car disaster in May, returned to Italy on Friday after the Israeli supreme court on Monday rejected an appeal by his grandfather who took him from Italy to Israel against awarding custody to his Italy-based paternal aunt.
    Eitan left Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport for Rome with the aunt, Aya Biran Nirko, her husband Or and their two daughters shortly after seven o'clock ppm local time.
    A family spokesan said "Eitan is coming home with his aunt, which is next to the house where he grew up since he was a month old, the home of his deceased parents, which is also close to the home of his father's grandparents who are awaiting his return".
    A Tel Aviv family court ruled on October 25 that Eitan be returned to the care of his Italian-based paternal aunt, Aya Biran, saying that his habitual residence was in Italy.
    Shmuel Peleg, the maternal grandfather, unsuccessfully appealed against the ruling and one by another Israeli court.
    Italy has requested the extradition of Peleg and his male accomplice in taking Eitan out of the country, but Israel does not extradite its own citizens.
    Eitan's parents, great-grandparents and two-year-old brother were among the 14 victims of the disaster. (ANSA).