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Poisoning suspected after visiting family dies in Turkey · DEEP INSIGHT

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: In Istanbul. A preliminary forensic reporting to the deaths of
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: a Turkish German family shows they were likely exposed to
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: toxic chemicals at their hotel. The family of four from
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Hamburg fell ill last week, well on holiday, and all
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: later died. Officials have arrested several people.
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: The Boujek family had been staying in this hotel in
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  Speaker 2: Istanbul's old town when both parents and their two children
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  Speaker 2: fell ill last week. This footage shows them taking a
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: taxi to the nearest hospital. Within a few days or
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: four of them were dead. Investigators initially thought they'd died
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: from food poisoning. They suspected the source could have come
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  Speaker 2: from eateries in a tourist neighborhood the family from Hamburg
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  Speaker 2: had visited or from their hotel. The management, though, has
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: denied any involvement.
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: While the inspectors are inside, we can't talk. We're confident
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  Speaker 3: about our hotel. We don't offer any food here. We're
• 1:11
  Speaker 3: not giving any interviews. Well, we offer bottled water here,
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  Speaker 3: nothing else.
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  Speaker 2: Several food vendors were detained, but tests found no trace
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  Speaker 2: of contamination. Then two more people staying at the same
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: hotel were hospitalized with similar symptoms. Local media reported that
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  Speaker 2: a room below the families had been sprayed with pesticides
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  Speaker 2: to kill bed bugs. Its suspected that the fumes could
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: have reached the family's room through a bathroom vent. Medical
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: experts believe the pesticides may have included the toxic chemical
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: aluminium phosphi. If aluminium phosphide combines with air, a biochemical
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: reaction produces phosphine gas, and this phosphine gas is truly toxic.
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: It's a derivative of a gas used as a chemical weapon.
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  Speaker 2: News of the deaths has spread. The knock on effect
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  Speaker 2: to tourism is being felt across.
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  Speaker 3: Istambul Inevitably, reservation cancelations have occurred. We've heard from everyone
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  Speaker 3: inevitably that hotel occupancy rates are falling, and the parallel
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: decline in business for our tourism agency business has had
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: a significant impact. God willing all sectors will find their footing.
• 2:53
  Speaker 4: But.
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  Speaker 2: Not everyone has canceled their visit.
• 3:00
  Speaker 4: Yesterday from Germany and before we've just heard about that
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  Speaker 4: some people from Hamburg were poisoned here and and they died,
• 3:10
  Speaker 4: and we were very worried about it and our shots
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  Speaker 4: can we go, But we decided to go. We are
• 3:18
  Speaker 4: not so anxious.
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: The hotel at the center of the investigation remained sealed off.
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: Several more people have been detained in connection with the deaths.
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: Julia han Is, our correspondent in Istanbul. Tell us more
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  Speaker 1: about how this family died.
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  Speaker 5: Well, The investigations are still ongoing as we speak, but
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  Speaker 5: when you read through this preliminary forensic report, you can
• 3:49
  Speaker 5: really see how investigators initially thought that the family died
• 3:53
  Speaker 5: of food poisoning, because in the one or two days
• 3:57
  Speaker 5: before first the children fell ill and passed away, they
• 4:00
  Speaker 5: had eaten different kinds of very popular Turkish street food.
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  Speaker 5: But then the toxic substances found in their bodies did
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  Speaker 5: not match the food samples. And then other guests staying
• 4:13
  Speaker 5: at the same hotel, like the Burjeck family, also had
• 4:16
  Speaker 5: fallen ill. So the whole investigation shifted to the hotel,
• 4:20
  Speaker 5: and investigators in their report said that they believe the
• 4:25
  Speaker 5: family died and I quote them here as a result
• 4:27
  Speaker 5: of chemical poisoning, primarily originating from the hotel environment. As
• 4:32
  Speaker 5: you mentioned, we know that pest control work had taken
• 4:35
  Speaker 5: place in the room below the families. Although the report
• 4:40
  Speaker 5: does not mention a specific substance. Yet investigators said they
• 4:45
  Speaker 5: needed to perform more toxicological and pathological analysis before they
• 4:49
  Speaker 5: would publish their final report towards the end of next week.
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: And Istanbul has put businesses under twenty four hour surveillance
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  Speaker 1: and street vendors face more inspections. What's that got to
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  Speaker 1: do with the chemical poisoning there?
• 5:04
  Speaker 5: Well, I think the Turkish authorities are now trying to
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  Speaker 5: show that they're doing something in response to this major
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  Speaker 5: scandal and entire family wiped out while on vacation here
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  Speaker 5: in Turkey. Of course, this has caused shock not only
• 5:18
  Speaker 5: here in the country but also abroad. It's a story
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  Speaker 5: that's been dominating the headlines of major Turkish news outlets
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  Speaker 5: for more than a week now. Many people have also
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  Speaker 5: expressed their anger on social media, saying how could this
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  Speaker 5: have happened? We want a full and proper investigation into this,
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  Speaker 5: And they're also demanding tougher controls on restaurants, hotels, but
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  Speaker 5: also street vendors because in fact, there have been quite
• 5:43
  Speaker 5: a number of reports about food poisoning, especially here in
• 5:48
  Speaker 5: Istanbul lately, so many people are saying something definitely needs
• 5:53
  Speaker 5: to improve.
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  Speaker 2: Now.
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  Speaker 1: Some eleven people have been detained. What's next in this investigation.
• 6:02
  Speaker 5: Well, from what we understand, some of those detained have
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  Speaker 5: been let go on certain conditions. The statements of other
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  Speaker 5: people are still being taken. Investigators are also looking into
• 6:13
  Speaker 5: the pest control company. Some Turkish media have reported that
• 6:17
  Speaker 5: the company might not have had the necessary license to
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  Speaker 5: actually work. But this is information that's been reported by
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  Speaker 5: media outlets. It's not been officially confirmed yet, and I
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  Speaker 5: think many people's hearts and minds are now with the
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  Speaker 5: family of the deceased. We've seen the funerals taking place
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  Speaker 5: here in Turkey. The family has been buried in the
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  Speaker 5: western Turkish province of Afyon, the children next to their parents,
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  Speaker 5: and I think nobody can understand how what was supposed
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  Speaker 5: to be a happy vacation turned into such a terrible tragedy.
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  Speaker 1: Julijahana for US in Istanbul