An investigation in Istanbul has led to the detention of 11 people after four members of a Turkish‑German family fell ill and later died while on holiday. The family became sick after eating street food in Ortaköy; the two children (ages 6 and 3) and their mother died within days, and the father later died after intensive care. Authorities initially probed food poisoning but are now also investigating possible pesticide exposure at the hotel. Toxicology and food‑sample analyses are pending.
Mystery in Istanbul: Four Members of Turkish‑German Family Die — 11 Detained as Probe Expands
An investigation in Istanbul has led to the detention of 11 people after four members of a Turkish‑German family fell ill and later died while on holiday. The family became sick after eating street food in Ortaköy; the two children (ages 6 and 3) and their mother died within days, and the father later died after intensive care. Authorities initially probed food poisoning but are now also investigating possible pesticide exposure at the hotel. Toxicology and food‑sample analyses are pending.
12:48 AM, 11/19/2025Health
Mystery deepens after four members of a Turkish‑German family die while visiting Istanbul
Turkish authorities have detained 11 people as investigators probe the suspected poisoning deaths of four members of the same family who fell ill while on holiday in Istanbul, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
The victims — a Turkish‑German mother, her husband and their two young children — became ill on Wednesday after eating several popular street foods in Ortaköy, a waterside neighbourhood beneath one of the Bosphorus bridges. The two children, identified by Anadolu as Cigdem Bocek’s son Kadir, 6, and daughter Masal, 3, died on Thursday; the mother died on Friday. The father, Servet Bocek, died on Monday after several days in intensive care.
Istanbul prosecutors initially opened a probe into possible food poisoning. But subsequent Turkish media reports indicated investigators are also examining whether the family was exposed to pesticides used in the hotel where they were staying.
According to Hurriyet, pest‑control chemicals were sprayed in a ground‑floor room to tackle a bedbug infestation, and that the substance may have travelled to the family’s first‑floor room through a bathroom vent. Police collected samples from sheets, pillows, blankets and water bottles and sealed the building while tests are carried out.
The unnamed hotel in the Fatih neighbourhood near Istanbul’s historic peninsula was evacuated on Saturday after two other guests reported similar symptoms and were taken to hospital. Municipal officials sealed the hotel on Sunday.
Authorities detained a number of people in connection with the investigation, including five street food vendors, the hotel owner and two hotel staff members, and three employees of the pest control company. Anadolu did not provide an exact timeline for all detentions; eight of the detainees were due to appear before a judge.
A toxicology report prepared by forensic experts was expected to be released alongside an analysis of food samples being examined by specialists at the agriculture ministry, Anadolu said.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters after a Cabinet meeting that, "our security forces and prosecutors will lead the necessary investigations to determine the causes of these deaths." Istanbul’s regional health chief, Abdullah Emre Guner, offered condolences on social media and said the investigation was being conducted "with utmost diligence."
The mother and her two children were buried on Saturday in their family village in the Bolvadin area of central Turkey, roughly 240 kilometres southwest of Ankara, Turkish newspapers reported.
What remains unclear: Officials have not yet released the toxicology results or a definitive cause of death. Investigators are continuing to examine hotel and food samples and to interview witnesses and staff as they work to piece together whether foodborne toxins, pesticide exposure or another cause led to this tragic outcome.