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Preliminary Forensics Point to Chemical Poisoning in Istanbul Hotel in Deaths of German Family

Authorities have detained hotel and pest-control staff along with several food vendors pending final lab results later this month.

Overview

  • Excerpts reported by Turkish media from a forensic and toxicology review deem a hotel-origin chemical exposure the likely cause and consider a foodborne source unlikely.
  • Investigators say a ground-floor room was treated with an insecticide shortly before the family fell ill, with fumes possibly traveling via bathroom ventilation to the family’s room above.
  • Media and investigator accounts frequently cite aluminium phosphide as a suspected agent, though officials have not yet released confirmatory toxicology data.
  • The hotel was evacuated and sealed after two other guests reported similar symptoms; a total of about eleven people are in custody and several arrest warrants have been issued.
  • Final microbiological and toxicological findings, including substance identification and responsibility, are expected in a formal report later in November.