Three tourists die from poisoning in Istanbul, hotel evacuated
Authorities in Istanbul evacuated a hotel in the city’s historic center on Saturday after three members of a Turkish-German tourist family died from what is believed to be pesticide poisoning, according to local media reports.
The family of four — Turkish nationals living in Germany and visiting Istanbul — fell ill on Wednesday after eating several popular dishes in the Ortaköy district along the Bosphorus. They were taken to the hospital, but the two children, aged 3 and 6, died on Thursday, followed by their mother on Friday, the Ministry of Justice confirmed.
The father remained in critical condition as of Friday evening, according to a statement posted on X by Istanbul’s regional health director, Abdullah Emre Guner.
Initial suspicions pointed to food poisoning, prompting authorities to seal the restaurant where the family had dined. However, two other tourists staying in the same hotel — whose name has not been disclosed — were hospitalized on Saturday after experiencing nausea and vomiting, the newspaper BirGün reported.
Investigators later discovered that pesticides had recently been sprayed in a ground-floor room of the hotel, according to Hürriyet. Police have since arrested one hotel employee and two pest control workers, bringing the total number of people detained in connection with the case to seven.
All hotel guests were transferred to other accommodations, though the number of affected visitors has not yet been disclosed.
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