ISTANBUL – A mother and her two children from Hamburg, Germany, died in Istanbul after carbon monoxide poisoning, Turkish authorities have determined. The family was found unresponsive in their hotel room on August 22nd and pronounced dead at the scene.
The tragedy prompted an evacuation and sealing of the hotel as investigators worked to determine the cause. Initial reports suggested possible food poisoning, but tests confirmed lethal levels of carbon monoxide stemming from a faulty boiler in the hotel.The family, German citizens originally from Afyonkarahisar in western Turkey, were afterward buried there.
According to the Hamburg police, Turkish authorities contacted them to inform relatives in Hamburg. The inquiry remains under the jurisdiction of Turkish authorities, with no current involvement from German law enforcement beyond relaying data to the family. The Foreign Office has confirmed the deaths and is providing consular assistance.
