Russian sailor dies of suspected poisoning on ship off Istanbul, authorities say

A Russian sailor died and two others were being treated for suspected poisoning on Wednesday following a toxic leak inside a tanker just off Istanbul, local authorities said.

Officials were alerted to the emergency aboard the Panama-flagged tanker “Swanlake” at 5:30 pm when the vessel was several miles from Istanbul’s Asian coastline, the governor’s office said in a statement.

“The incident is believed to have been caused by a leak in the vessel’s cold tank. One crew member died and two others were poisoned and are under observation,” it said.

A cold tank is a refrigerated storage section inside a tanker, which is normally heavily insulated. It was not clear what this particular vessel was carrying.

“Efforts are under way to evacuate the 10 crew members and two injured individuals on board the ship,” it added.

The sailor’s death came on the same day that local Turkish media reported that a forensic report into the deaths of four members of a Turkish-German family on holiday in Istanbul revealed they were likely exposed to chemicals.

The family, who traveled from Germany to Turkey’s largest city for a vacation, fell ill last week after eating several popular street food dishes in the waterside neighborhood of Ortakoy, at the foot of a bridge spanning the Bosphorus.

Turkish prosecutors launched an investigation initially focusing on suspected food poisoning.

Eleven people have been detained in connection with the incident.

Quoting investigators, Turkey’s Hurriyet newspaper said a substance was sprayed in a room on the ground floor of the hotel to combat a bed bug infestation, which may have reached the family’s room on the first floor through a bathroom vent. Police collected samples from sheets, pillows, water bottles and blankets before sealing the building, the newspaper reported.