Tourist mother, 2 children dead after suspected food poisoning in Istanbul

Four people have been taken into custody in connection with the deaths of the two children, ages three and six, and their mother while the father remains in the hospital.

Two children and their mother have died after eating street food at a popular Istanbul tourist site, Turkish officials said Friday.

The Böcek family, from Germany, reportedly became sick on Wednesday after eating popular street food dishes at local vendors in the neighbourhood of Ortakoy.

They were rushed to the hospital but the two children, ages three and six, died from suspected food poisoning, Istanbul’s regional health chief Abdullah Emre Guner said on X.

“The family’s children, aged 6 and 3, could not be saved despite all interventions. The mother and father’s treatments in intensive care continue. An investigation has been initiated by our Provincial Health Directorate regarding the incident,” Emre Guner added.

The mother died shortly after, according to Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc, who shared the update to X on Friday.

“The investigation initiated by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office regarding the incident in which a family of four staying at a hotel in Istanbul was taken to the hospital with suspicion of poisoning after falling ill, and in which 2 children and the mother passed away, while the father’s treatment is still ongoing, is being conducted meticulously,” Tunc wrote.

He said necessary samples have been collected from the places where the family is known to have eaten.

“4 persons on duty and responsible at these places have been taken into custody,” Tunc added.