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Istanbul Seals Hotel as Probe Into Tourists’ Deaths Widens

Authorities are probing two possible sources—cafe fare or chemicals from recent pest control.

Overview

  • Officials closed access to the Harbour Suites in Fatih as investigators secured the site.
  • Prosecutors opened a criminal-negligence case and police detained at least seven people, including a hotel employee, pest-control workers and food vendors, with some reports putting the total at eight.
  • Investigators are examining both a food-poisoning link to a sealed cafe in Besiktas and a possible exposure to substances used during recent disinsection at the hotel.
  • Beyond the three deaths—a mother and two children aged three and six—the children's father remains in intensive care in critical condition, according to health officials.
  • Two guests from Italy and Morocco were hospitalized Saturday in non-life-threatening condition, and an accompanying visitor was admitted Sunday with a low pulse as police sent items from rooms to a lab after completing a hotel inspection.