The death of a Hamburg family in Istanbul at first seemed like a shocking isolated incident. But other cases also show surprising similarities. Now 25 restaurant guests have been hospitalized. They had ordered traditional dishes.
In Istanbul, 25 people were hospitalized with suspected food poisoning after visiting a restaurant. Those affected are “generally in good health” and receiving “necessary medical examinations and treatment,” wrote the head of the responsible health authority in the Turkish metropolis, Abdullah Emre Güner, on the X platform.
The 25 people were said to have ordered the traditional Lahmacun dish – flatbread spread with minced meat, vegetables and various spices – at a restaurant in Istanbul’s Sisli district on Friday evening. According to broadcaster CNN Türk, visitors complained of nausea and vomiting after eating. Local authorities sealed the restaurant, which did not have a permit to operate, according to CNN.
Also on Friday, 14 students in Istanbul’s neighboring province of Kocaeli were hospitalized after eating a chicken dish, according to local media reports. According to the newspaper “Habertürk”, the students also experienced nausea and vomiting shortly after eating lunch in the school cafeteria. The students are now in good condition, authorities said Saturday.
A few days ago, the death of a family in Hamburg caused horror. However, initial suspicions of food poisoning were not confirmed – authorities now assume chemical poisoning following pest control at the hotel.
The fate of the family in Istanbul is not an isolated case?
Other incidents also show similarities to the family’s fate. According to media reports, a businessman complained of sweating and shortness of breath at the hotel on the evening of November 19, was taken to hospital and died there. According to the DHA news agency, he traveled to Türkiye from Germany. The background to his death is still unclear. The hotel is within walking distance of the Hamburg family hotel.
Two sisters who traveled to Istanbul from the Netherlands were hospitalized from their hotel in Fatih on November 19 due to nausea, vomiting and diarrhea suspected of being food poisoning – according to state news agency Anadolu. One of them was released some time later.
The death of an Erasmus student from Germany in November 2024 was initially explained as food poisoning. However, a forensic report into the 21-year-old’s death published in August concluded that he was probably poisoned by a pesticide against bedbugs, his lawyer told dpa. A bed bug control agent was used on the first floor, converted to gas and spread throughout the building, the report said. The student lived on the second floor.
dpa/rct
