Two children and their mother have died and the father is fighting for his life after eating street food at a popular İstanbul tourist spot, Turkish officials and media said Friday.
The family reportedly fell ill on Wednesday after eating several common street food dishes in the waterside Ortaköy neighborhood, located at the foot of a bridge spanning the Bosporus.
The family, which was staying in the Fatih district, became sick soon after and were rushed to the hospital, but the two children, aged 6 and 3, died, İstanbul’s regional health chief, Abdullah Emre Güner, said on X on Thursday.
The mother and father were being treated in intensive care, and an investigation had been opened, he said.
The mother later died, Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç said on X on Friday.
“Samples have been taken from the places where the family is known to have eaten, and four people … have been taken into custody,” the minister wrote.
Some media reports said the family had eaten mussels with rice — a popular snack often sold by street vendors, as well as “kumpir,” or stuffed baked potatoes.
Other reports said they had eaten kokoreç, a dish of grilled lamb entrails, and also mentioned Turkish Delight, adding that the victims were a Turkish family living in Germany who had come to İstanbul on holiday.
© Agence France-Presse