Couple and their young children all die after suspected food poisoning during holiday to Turkey
A couple and their two young children tragically died of suspected food poisoning after trying street food while on holiday in Türkiye.
The family of four fell violently ill at their hotel in Istanbul on November 11, just two days after setting out from Hamburg, Germany.
Last Tuesday, the family set out for the Besiktas district in the northeast of the city, where they tried the popular street snack mussels (stuffed mussels with lemon).
They then ordered several dishes at a local restaurant, including kokoreç, made with beef intestines, and chicken tantuni, a type of Turkish chicken wrap.
The family offered them Turkish delight from a shop in Fatih before returning to their hotel.
However, soon the children (3-year-old Masal and 6-year-old Kadir) started experiencing extreme nausea and vomiting.
27-year-old mother Çiğdem Böcek and 38-year-old father Servet took them to the hospital before they showed the same symptoms.
The family, who applied with complaints of nausea, vomiting and dizziness, was discharged after treatment in two different health institutions. Photograph.
The family of four fell violently ill at their hotel in Istanbul on November 11, just two days after traveling from Hamburg, Germany, to the Turkish capital.
According to Bild, the family complained of nausea, vomiting and dizziness, and the parents and children, who were treated in two different health institutions, were discharged.
They returned to their hotel, but after a few hours their condition deteriorated dramatically and on Wednesday the mother and her two children died.
Servet, who was fighting for his life in the hospital, also died on Monday.
Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation and detained 7 people, including street vendors.
Investigators are investigating whether the deaths were caused by mussels, restaurant food, or chemicals used by the hotel’s pest control service.
Samples taken from food stalls and restaurants are being examined by the Forensic Medicine Institute.
The family’s remains were sent to the Institute for autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.
The children’s heartbroken grandfather demanded answers and asked if anyone else had gotten sick.
According to BirGün newspaper, two tourists staying in the same hotel with the family were hospitalized on Saturday, showing symptoms of nausea and vomiting.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Monday: ‘The investigation is currently being carried out in a comprehensive manner. It will be revealed what caused the deaths.’
The ordeal is reminiscent of a series of recent holiday tragedies linked to food poisoning across Europe.
The family’s remains were sent to the Institute for autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.
Two Italians died within a week of each other after eating poisoned broccoli and hot dogs in August.
More than a dozen people were hospitalized after consuming poisoned sandwiches from a food truck near the Calabrian town of Diamante.
All showed signs of botulism linked to the popular vegetable.
Botulism is a rare condition that can often be life-threatening and is caused by toxins produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum.
It attacks the nervous system, causing breathing problems, muscle paralysis, and can be fatal in about 10 percent of cases.
The most common way to contract botulism is by eating food contaminated with the toxin, usually due to improper processing.
