Three people have been arrested in Italy over Sunday's cable car accident that left 14 dead. Investigators say the emergency brakes had been disabled and the three members of the operating company were aware. According to a local transport official, the brake failure meant the car was travelling at over 100km/h (62 mph) when the cable broke. The car plunged 20m (65ft) into the side of the Mottarone mountain near Lake Maggiore in northern Italy. Prosecutors are carrying out an investigation into suspected involuntary homicide and negligence. Was the brake tampered with? The three suspects have been identified as the owner, director and chief of operations of the company that managed the cable car. AFP reports that local prosecutor Olimpia Bossi told a press conference that the brake had been tampered with in a "conscious act" and suggested the car was unsafe before Sunday's accident. The prosecutor alleged a fork-like clamp had been placed over the emergency brake, which had been malfunctioning, after repair work on the car was unsuccessful, according to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. "It had been applied to avoid continuous disruptions and blockages of the cable car," she said, adding that the suspects had believed that the cable would never break. According to the newspaper, investigators had initially believed the clamp had been left in place by mistake. What happened to the survivor? Five families were on board the cable car when it crashed, including two children who were among the dead. The sole survivor of the accident has been named as Eitan Biran, a five-year old Israeli boy whose parents, great-grandparents and younger brother were all killed. According to reports, he was protected from the impact of the crash by his father, who shielded him with his body. Eitan was placed in a medically induced coma after an operation on Sunday but briefly opened his eyes on Wednesday, a medical official said. His aunt is with him in the hospital and he is expected to fully regain consciousness in the coming hours. "This is the most delicate moment," Turin's health chief was quoted as saying by Italy's La Repubblica newspaper.