A hotel in Istanbul has been evacuated following the deaths of a tourist mother and her two children from suspected food poisoning.
The Böcek family, from Germany, reportedly became sick on Nov. 12 after eating popular street food dishes at local vendors in the neighbourhood of Ortakoy.
They were rushed to the hospital but the two children, ages three and six, died from suspected food poisoning and the mother died shortly after. Turkish officials said the father’s treatment was “still ongoing” on Friday but he died on Monday after several days in intensive care.
“In the Böcek family, where two of our children and their mother were taken to the hospital after falling ill in Fatih, the father Servet Böcek has also lost his life despite all interventions,” Istanbul’s regional health chief Abdullah Emre Guner said on X.
Guner offered his condolences to the family members and said the investigation into the incident is “being conducted with utmost diligence.”
Istanbul prosecutors opened an investigation and collected necessary samples from the places where the family is known to have eaten. But now evidence has emerged that the family may have been exposed to pesticides in the Harbour Suites Old City Hotel room where they were staying, Turkish media reports.
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Over the weekend, two tourists staying at the same hotel as the Böcek family were hospitalized after displaying symptoms of nausea and vomiting, according to BirGun newspaper.
A third person, who was staying in the same room as the two tourists, was also admitted to the hospital for testing due to a low heart rate.
A substance was sprayed in a room on the ground floor of the hotel to help combat bed bug infestation, which could have reached other rooms through a bathroom vent, Turkey’s Hurriyet newspaper reports.
The hotel has since been sealed off after police inspected it as part of the investigation and collected samples from sheets, pillows, water bottles and blankets.
The preliminary forensic report for the Böcek family was released on Nov. 17 and stated that the family “may have been affected by chemical poisoning” at the hotel and that “the likelihood of their deaths as a result of food poisoning is low,” according to the newspaper.
A detailed report is scheduled for release on Nov. 28.
Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said last week that four people were detained as part of the investigation, including the stuffed mussels vendor who sold food to the Böcek family.
In addition to the four food vendors arrested last week, the hotel owner, a baker, a cafe owner, two pest control workers who did the pesticide application, and two hotel attendants have also been detained.
A similar situation took place in Sri Lanka in February when two tourists died after suffering an illness while on vacation. Both of the deceased stayed at the Miracle Colombo City Hostel in the centre of Colombo.
Ebony McIntosh, a 24-year-old British influencer, and Nadine Raguse, a 27-year-old German woman, became very ill and were reportedly rushed to the hospital to be treated for vomiting, nausea and breathing difficulties on Feb. 1.
Within hours of their arrival at the hospital, McIntosh and Raguse, who had the same symptoms, both died.
Reports suggest that McIntosh and Raguse may have suffered a possible chemical poisoning, as the adjacent hostel room had been fumigated with phosphine, which is a deadly chemical used to kill bedbugs. The room had reportedly been sealed for 72 hours following the treatment on Jan. 30.
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