ISTANBUL: A forensic report into the deaths of four members of a Turkish-German family on holiday in Istanbul revealed they were likely exposed to chemicals, local media reported on Wednesday.
The family, who traveled from Germany to Turkiye’s largest city for a vacation, fell ill last week after eating several popular street food dishes in the waterside neighborhood of Ortakoy, at the foot of a bridge spanning the Bosphorus.
Turkish prosecutors launched an investigation, initially focusing on suspected food poisoning.
Eleven people have been detained in connection with the incident.
But a forensic report based on samples taken from the mother and the two children showed that their death due to food poisoning was a “lower possibility,” the daily Cumhuriyet said, citing the report.
“Primarily, it is believed that they died as a result of chemical poisoning caused by the circumstances in the hotel where they were staying,” the forensic report said.
Turkish media had earlier reported that a substance was sprayed in a room on the ground floor of the hotel to combat a bed bug infestation, which may have reached the family’s room on the first floor through a bathroom vent.
The hotel in the Fatih neighborhood near Istanbul’s historic peninsula was evacuated on Saturday after two more guests were taken to hospital with similar symptoms. It was sealed off on Sunday.
The two children died on Thursday and their mother died a day later. The father was treated in intensive care until Monday when he too died.
The report said a definitive conclusion would be reached after further analysis was completed.
“The pathological, microbiological, and toxicological analysis of samples taken from mother and children will provide definitive conclusions regarding the causes of death,” it said.
The two children held German citizenship, an embassy spokesman in Ankara told AFP.
The forensic report also said samples of chemical substances used in the hotel would be examined by the chemistry department at the Forensic Medicine Institute.
Forensic report says Istanbul tourists deaths likely due to chemical poisoning
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Forensic report says Istanbul tourists deaths likely due to chemical poisoning
- The family fell ill last week after eating several popular street food dishes in the waterside neighborhood of Ortakoy
WHO alarmed by health workers, civilians ‘forcibly detained’ in Sudan
- The WHO counts and verifies attacks on health care, though it does not attribute blame as it is not an investigation agency
GENEVA: The World Health Organization voiced alarm Tuesday at reports that more than 70 health workers and around 5,000 civilians were being detained in Nyala in southwestern Sudan.
Since April 2023, Sudan’s regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been locked in a brutal conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 12 million more and devastated infrastructure.
“We are concerned by reports from Nyala, the capital of Sudan’s South Darfur state, that more than 70 health care workers are being forcibly detained along with about 5,000 civilians,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.
“According to the Sudan Doctors Network, the detainees are being held in cramped and unhealthy conditions, and there are reports of disease outbreaks,” the UN health agency chief said.
The RSF and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North faction allied earlier this year, forming a coalition based in Nyala.
“WHO is gathering more information on the detentions and conditions of those being held. The situation is complicated by the ongoing insecurity,” said Tedros.
“The reported detentions of health workers and thousands more people is deeply concerning. Health workers and civilians should be protected at all times and we call for their safe and unconditional release.”
The WHO counts and verifies attacks on health care, though it does not attribute blame as it is not an investigation agency.
In total, the WHO has recorded 65 attacks on health care in Sudan this year, resulting in 1,620 deaths and 276 injuries. Of those attacks, 54 impacted personnel, 46 impacted facilities and 33 impacted patients.
Earlier Tuesday, UN rights chief Volker Turk said he was “alarmed by the further intensification in hostilities” in the Kordofan region in southern Sudan.
“I urge all parties to the conflict and states with influence to ensure an immediate ceasefire and to prevent atrocities,” he said.
“Medical facilities and personnel have specific protection against attack under international humanitarian law,” Turk added.
