In the case of the Hamburg family who died while on holiday in Istanbul, the investigation is now focusing on the use of pesticides. It’s about the hotel where Servet and Çiğdem Böcek stayed with their six-year-old son and three-year-old daughter. Türkiye’s Justice Ministry considered “chemical poisoning originating from the hotel environment” as a possible cause of death after a preliminary forensic investigation. Food poisoning is less likely, according to an interim report from the Institute of Forensic Medicine published on Tuesday.
However, no toxic substances or related degradation substances were found during the autopsy of the corpse. Likewise with blood samples taken when the family was first hospitalized due to nausea. These preliminary results are based in part on the fact that two other guests at the hotel were also treated for similar symptoms. Additional microbiology and toxicology tests are needed to reach a final decision. The results will be published on November 28.
Do toxic fumes enter the room through the bathroom duct?
The Böcek family had booked the mid-priced Harbor Suites Old City Hotel in the Fatih district, which is popular with tourists. They were given room 201. It was directly above the room on the ground floor where insecticide was sprayed against bedbugs – the day before the family first felt symptoms of the disease and took a taxi to the hospital, which sent them home.
According to local media, toxic fumes allegedly entered Böceks’ room through the bathroom duct. Turkish journalists interview experts about the impact of aluminum phosphide. However, there has been no official confirmation whether this substance was used. However, the owner of the contracted company testified that the synthetic pyrethroid insecticides Alfasc and Cypermethrin, approved by the Ministry of Health, were used. Medicine samples and bed linen from the deceased’s family are currently being examined in the laboratory.
Investigators initially suspected food poisoning. The Böcek family had eaten shellfish, sweets, pide and kokoreç, a Turkish specialty made from grilled lamb intestines, in the Ortaköy district, which is frequented by many tourists. Even though an inspection of the stands and restaurants and the products they offered did not reveal any abnormalities, the sellers at the four locations were still detained. Seven other people were brought before a judge on Wednesday, including the hotel owner, hotel employees and a hired pest control company.
Parents found their children lifeless in bed
The parents called an ambulance at 3am last Thursday when they found their children lifeless in bed. It was the fourth day of their holiday in Istanbul. At the hospital, only death could be determined. The mother died a day later and the father died on Monday this week after being treated in the intensive care unit.
Servet Böcek was buried on Wednesday in the western Anatolian town of Afyonkarahisar, where his wife and children were previously buried. After the funeral, Servet’s father, Yılmaz Böcek, accused the hospital that treated the family as outpatients of negligence. “How can they send a patient home in that condition without monitoring him?” he asked. He also questioned why chemicals that could be fatal were approved. He realized that media attention would soon evaporate. However, he will fight to the end to ensure that those responsible are held accountable.
The fate of the Hamburg family of Turkish origin has sparked great sympathy in Türkiye and raised critical questions about the reliability of the country’s control system. The country also has to worry about the negative impact on the tourism industry. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan tried to limit the damage on Wednesday. He assured that the investigation would be carried out with “high sensitivity”. “Anyone who is found to be negligent, guilty, or has committed a criminal act will be found out and will not be pardoned.”
Are pest controllers not trained enough?
Meanwhile, media reports reveal several inconsistencies. Court reporter Dilek Yaman Demir reported without citing sources that the pest control company sprayed aluminum phosphide at a Koranic school in Istanbul, resulting in one student requiring hospital treatment. Similar deaths were also reported in Antalya two years ago.
It remains unclear to what extent the pest controllers involved were sufficiently trained in their work. He himself admitted that he had been trained by his company, which according to the owner did not have a training permit and therefore only employed trained workers.
There is hardly any debate over the fact that suspects were detained without incriminating evidence and not released even when the investigation was still in its infancy; People in Türkiye are used to this.
