Istanbul hotel evacuated after German tourist deaths

Istanbul: A hotel in Istanbul has been evacuated following the deaths of a German-Turkish mother and her two children from suspected poisoning, local media have reported.

Another two tourists staying at the same hotel as the family in the Fatih neighbourhood of Turkiye’s largest city were hospitalised on Saturday after displaying symptoms of nausea and vomiting, BirGun newspaper said.

The father from the family from Hamburg, which was holidaying in Istanbul, remained in “critical condition” in hospital, the city’s regional health chief Abdullah Emre Guner said late Friday on X.

What do we know about the investigation?

Although the main focus has so far been on food poisoning as a likely cause of death, investigators have also found that a ground-floor room of the hotel had recently been sprayed with chemicals, likely pesticides, the Hurriyet news website reported Saturday.

Police have detained a hotel employee and two pest control workers, it added.

The dailies Cumhuriyet and Sabah have both reported that a baker working near the hotel has also been arrested, meaning that eight people have now been arrested in connection with the deaths,

When asked by CNN Türk about possible food poisoning at the hotel, one of the hotel owners said there was no restaurant there and that only water was available to guests. Forensic investigators have already taken samples of the drinking water.

Possible food poisoning in focus

The family fell ill after eating stuffed mussels from a street vendor and soup and a dish made from calf intestines, known in Turkish as kokorec, at another shop, according to the daily Sabah newspaper.

They are also known to have bought Turkish delight and water, while the Anadolu news agency reported that they also ate chicken.

The two children, aged 3 and 6, were admitted to hospital on Wednesday and treated for nausea and vomiting, but were initially discharged. All four members of the family were readmitted in the night when the children’s condition deteriorated.

The children died shortly afterward, followed by the mother.

The three were buried on Saturday in a town in the western Turkish province of Afyonkarahisar, according to Anadolu.

Four people who sell street food are among the eight arrested in connection with the case. -DW