Mother and Two Children Die in Istanbul Poisoning Case

A German-Turkish family vacationing in Istanbul suffered a tragic loss when a mother and her two young children died from suspected poisoning, while the father remains in critical condition in a local hospital.

Çiğdem Bocek, 27, and her children, Masal, 3, and Kadir Muhammet, 6, passed away after falling ill with severe nausea and vomiting during their stay at a hotel in the city's Fatih district. The family, who lived in Hamburg, had arrived in Istanbul on November 9 for a holiday. Servet Bocek, 36, the family's father, is unconscious and intubated at a hospital, according to Istanbul's regional health chief, Abdullah Emre Guner.

The ordeal began after the family explored local cuisine. They ate street food in areas including Besiktas and Ortakoy, sampling dishes such as stuffed mussels known as midye, kokorec made from grilled intestines, tavuk tantuni chicken wraps, and Turkish delights from a shop in Fatih. Soon after returning to their hotel on Wednesday, the children developed symptoms and were rushed to a hospital. Initial treatment led to their discharge, but later that night, the parents found Masal motionless and called for an ambulance. All four family members were...