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A mother and her small children die of suspected food poisoning while on vacation in Istanbul, and the father is in the intensive care unit. Authorities evacuated the hotel. Eight suspects were arrested.
November 16, 2025, 2:36 p.mNovember 16, 2025, 3:18 p.m
Several days after the death of a Hamburg mother and her two children during a holiday in Turkey in Istanbul, the case is puzzling investigators. So far the authorities are going of food poisoning as the cause but is determined in several directions. That was also the last Hotel the family came into focusafter two more tourists were taken to hospital with symptoms of poisoning.
Authorities evacuated the hotel in the Fatih district on Saturday evening and sealed the building, according to the state news agency Anadolu. The guests were relocated. According to official data, no unusual increase in food poisoning cases has been detected in Istanbul.
Eight suspects arrested
According to media reports, eight suspects have now been arrested: on Friday four street food vendorson Saturday three more suspects, including a person in charge of the hotel, and most recently a baker from the hotel area. It was unclear whether the arrests were related. The authorities did not initially comment.
According to Anadolu, the police forensic team also took samples of the drinking water and took all the items away to be examined in the laboratory. A room on the ground floor was also disinfected with chemicals – presumably pesticides for pest control.
Father from Hamburg still in intensive care
The father, mother, six-year-old son and three-year-old daughter traveled to Istanbul a week ago. According to Anadolu, the family was admitted to a hospital on Wednesday due to nausea and vomiting with suspected food poisoning and has since been released.
After the condition worsened, the entire family was taken to hospital again that night. Both children died shortly afterwards, followed by the mother on Friday. The father is still in the intensive care unit – nothing new is known about his condition.
Laboratory results that are still pending will provide more precise information about the cause of death. According to Anadolu, an initial autopsy report provided hardly any significant information.
Other tourists are not in mortal danger
The three people from Hamburg were buried on Saturday in Afyonkarahisar, western Turkey. The new cases of the disease are tourists from Italy and Morocco.
The head of the Istanbul Health Directorate, Abdullah Emre Güner, wrote on X that the condition of the two tourists was good and that they would continue to be monitored. Another holidaymaker who stayed in the room with the two of them was examined because of a slow heartbeat. His condition is good.
According to state broadcaster TRT, the four arrested on Friday were sellers of sweets, stuffed mussels and a dish made from veal intestines (kokorec). They are accused of negligent homicide, Anadolu reported. Accordingly, all suspects have previous convictions for other crimes. The authorities also closed a shop where the family is said to have eaten. (sda/dpa)