Two children on holiday have died in a popular tourist area and their parents are in intensive care, Turkish media and health authorities said today.
“Despite all the efforts made, the children, aged 6 and 3, could not be saved. The parents remain in an intensive care unit,” the Istanbul provincial director of the Turkish Ministry of Health told X.
“An investigation has been launched by the health department,” added Dr. Abdullah Emre Guner, who clarified that the family was hospitalized for “alleged food poisoning.”
According to private television network NTV, citing a “police investigation”, the family is originally from Germany, home to a large Turkish community, and was on holiday in Turkey.
Local media reported that the food poisoning may have come from mussels bought from a street vendor and stuffed potatoes known as “kumpir”, a popular street food, which were consumed on Tuesday in the tourist area of Ortakoy on the European side of the Bosphorus.
The couple and their two children were hospitalized after falling ill, NTV reported.
