Khaberni - The case of the death of a German family of four during their vacation in Istanbul witnessed a new development, after the Turkish authorities announced the discovery of traces of the poisonous phosphine gas in the hotel room where the family stayed, according to a report by the forensic medicine quoted by Anadolu Agency.
The report confirmed the finding of gas residues in swabs from the family's room and also in hotel towels, but the final cause of death remains undecided, pending further analysis.
Aluminum phosphide is one of the most commonly used substances for pest and vermin control, and when it comes into contact with water or even the moisture in the air, it produces phosphine gas, which is highly toxic and attacks body cells and disrupts oxygen transport in the blood.
Phosphine can cause severe symptoms in humans such as dry cough, vomiting, liver and kidney failure, death if inhaled in high concentration, and four family members, the mother and her children died between 14 and 15 November, while the father later died in intensive care.
According to initial forensic reports, it is suspected that pest control substances sprayed in a room on the ground floor of the hotel may have leaked through ventilation openings to the family's room on the first floor, as Turkish newspapers mentioned that the lower room was being treated for bedbugs, which supports the hypothesis of a chemical substance leaking into the adjacent room.
The initial suspicions were directed towards food poisoning after the family ate popular meals in the Ortakoy region, but examinations of the places where they ate showed no unusual indicators, according to the media.
With the results matching between samples taken from the mother and children, forensic medicine suggested that the death was related to chemical substances inside the hotel. Following the incident, the hotel was completely evacuated, two other guests were hospitalized with similar symptoms, and the hotel was officially closed, with 11 people detained in relation to the investigation.
