Last moments of family-of-4 who died on vacation after ‘poisonous bedbug spray’ utilized in resort
Cigdem Bocek, 27, her husband Servet, 38, and their children Masal, three, and Kadir Muhammet, six, were all pronounced dead after falling violently ill in their bedroom in Istanbul
A family of four, including two young children, are believed to have tragically died on holiday due to pesticide poisoning in their hotel, according to police.
Mother Cigdem Bocek, 27, father Servet, 38, and their little ones Masal, three, and Kadir Muhammet, six, were all declared dead after becoming severely sick in their Istanbul hotel room. Initially, it was suspected that they had all suffered from food poisoning after a day spent sampling local street food from stalls and eateries in the Turkish capital.
However, police and prosecutors have since detained 11 individuals, including employees of the Harbour Suites Old City Hotel. This follows concerns that aluminium phosphide, utilised in a bedbug treatment in a ground floor room, may have travelled to the family’s room via the bathroom ventilation shaft, leading to their poisoning.
Aluminium phosphide is a potent toxic substance employed as a pesticide in agriculture and homes, capable of causing death if inhaled in large quantities. Investigators also discovered that at least one worker from the pest control firm whose products were used in the hotel lacked the necessary certification.
The hotel has since been evacuated and cordoned off while police continue to gather samples from the premises for analysis. It’s reported that officers have collected samples from bed linen, pillows, water bottles and blankets, reports the Mirror.
Personal items were also reportedly removed from the rooms of two other guests – an Italian tourist and a Moroccan tourist – who were hospitalised with suspected poisoning.
Footage captured the Bocek family, hailing from Hamburg, Germany, arriving at their Istanbul-based hotel in the Fatih district for their holiday on 9 November. Merely two days later, they sought medical help after experiencing symptoms of nausea, vomiting and dizziness following a day of sightseeing.
Tragically, Cigdem and her two children passed away just hours later, while Servet succumbed to his condition on Monday after spending six days in intensive care at the city’s Cemil Taskcioglu Hospital. Reports indicate that Cigdem and the children were laid to rest on Saturday in a town in the western Turkish province of Afyonkarahisar.
In response to the incident, Istanbul’s Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office initially detained seven individuals, including street food vendors. Samples from the food stalls and restaurants visited by the family were scrutinised by the Forensic Medicine Institute.
The children’s grandfather, Mustafa Celik, revealed that his daughter and her family had intended to visit him following their week-long holiday in Istanbul. He declared his intention to lodge complaints against those responsible, demanding the harshest possible sentences for those found culpable.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated: “Our security forces and prosecutors will lead the necessary investigations to determine the causes of these deaths.”
