Family on holiday likely poisoned by pesticide gas in Istanbul hotel – report

The Harbour Suites Old City hotel is sealed (Emrah Gurel/AP)

A Turkish-German family of four who died while on holiday in Istanbul were likely poisoned by gas emitted from a pesticide used to treat a bug infestation in their hotel, according to a preliminary post-mortem examination report cited by Turkey’s state-run news agency.

The Bocek family had arrived from Germany and were staying at a hotel in Istanbul’s Fatih district.

On November 12 they fell ill and went to hospital by taxi for treatment before returning to the hotel.

The following day they became sick again and were taken to hospital by ambulance.

The deaths heightened concerns over hotel safety standards (Emrah Gurel/AP)

The children, Kadir Muhammet, six, and Masal, three, died that day. Their mother, Cigdem, died on November 14 and their father, Servet, on November 17.

Their deaths heightened concerns over hotel safety standards and prompted calls for stricter oversight.

A preliminary report submitted to the prosecutor’s office found there was phosphine gas, an insecticide metabolite, on towels, masks and swab samples taken from various parts of the hotel room, Anadolu Agency reported.

The post-mortem examination also confirmed the family had not been poisoned by food, ruling out initial suspicions of street food consumed during their tour of the city.

Two other tourists staying at the hotel suffered nausea and vomiting and were taken to hospital, Anadolu reported.

Authorities have arrested 11 people in connection with the case and the hotel has been closed.