How a family, including 2 young children, died of poisoning while vacationing in Turkey

A family of four from Germany were on a vacation to Turkey. However, the holiday ended tragically after they fell in, were hospitalised, but ultimately died.   

Servet Bocek, 36; Cigdem Bocek, 27; their son, Kadir, six; and daughter, Masal, three, arrived in Istanbul from Germany’s Hamburg on November 9. Three days later, they fell ill after visiting tourist spots in the city and eating street food.

At first, they were treated in hospitals for suspected food poisoning. But after they were discharged, their health worsened. The family – father, mother and their two young children – died over the course of five days at a hotel they were staying in Istanbul’s Fatah District, which is popular among tourists.    

Now an investigation is ongoing in a possible case of poisoning.  

So what went wrong? 

What happened in Istanbul?

The Boceks were Turkish but lived in Germany and visited their homeland every year. On November 9, after they checked into their hotel, they visited various shops and restaurants across the city, trying famous local dishes, including the street snack of mussels stuffed with rice, stuffed mussels, and Kokoretsi, a traditional dish made with goat intestines, reported by the Turkish news agency Anadolu. 

On November 12, the family felt severely sick, complaining of vomiting and nausea, and were later they were taken to the hospital.

In a television interview, the taxi driver, who rushed the family to the hospital, said that the mother, Cigdem Bocek, was ill and the daughter was vomiting, reports  The New York Times. 

The children were discharged from the hospital on the same day, and returned to the hotel. However, the family was rushed back to the hospital the next day after the woman noticed that their daughter was lying motionless on the floor, according to Anadolu. They called an ambulance and were admitted back to the hospital.

Both children died on November 13 at the hospital, said Abdullah Emre Guner, Istanbul’s regional health chief. The woman, who complained of high fever and vomiting, died on November 14. Her husband, Servet Bocek, breathed his last on Monday (November 17) after days of intensive care.   

What happened to the family? 

The untimely and sudden death of the family has led to widespread concern across Turkey. When the probe began, prosecutors focused on the suspected food poisoning after eating some popular Turkish cuisine. There was a crackdown on street food vendors in the buzzing Ortaköy area in Istanbul. 

However, the investigation took a different direction after two more tourists staying in the same hotel were hospitalised. The health of the Böcek family and other visitors declined because of pesticides used in the hotel.

According to reports in the Turkish media, a pesticide used to kill bedbugs was sprayed in a room on the ground floor of the hotel and is likely to have reached the room of the Böceks through the ventilation system, making them sick.   

Turkey’s Institute of Forensic Medicine conducted the preliminary autopsy report, which found that “all had haemorrhaging on their stomach walls, among other symptoms”, reports NYT. It concluded that it was more likely that the family died from “chemical poisoning originating from the hotel environment” than from “food poisoning”.   

To gather more insights into what happened, the forensic institute said that “laboratories were processing samples — including body tissue, air from the hotel and food from the restaurants where they ate.” The examination of those samples is expected to be concluded later this month.   

The other guests who took ill were not suffering from life-threatening symptoms, according to Guner, the health chief.

How is the probe progressing? 

According to Turkish officials, eleven people have been arrested in connection with the case.   

The hotel owner, where the family stayed, several staff members, and employees, a pesticide worker, a mussel seller and a pita bread seller are among those held,  Anadolu  reported.   

The Istanbul provincial health directorate and the chief public prosecutor’s office are probing the matter.

Municipality officials have shuttered the Istanbul hotel pending the outcome of the investigation. Forensic teams have reportedly collected samples from bedsheets, pillows, water bottles and blankets. 

What did President Erdogan say? 

As the news grabbed international headlines, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke of the case in Parliament. “The investigation into the deaths is continuing with utmost sensitivity." 

“Anyone at fault will be determined, and there will be no mercy for them," he furthered.   

The governor of Istanbul also convened a food safety meeting, during which he announced that he would require restaurants to monitor their premises with surveillance cameras. He also ordered the inspections of pesticide companies. 

The authorities have sealed off the hotel in the meantime. 

With Inputs from agencies