Russian Tourists Report Mass Poisonings at Turkish Resort in Side

Russian holidaymakers have reported mass poisonings at a hotel in Turkey, according to the Telegram channel Ostorozhno, Novosti.

Tourists told the channel they had flown from Oryol to the Dobedan Beach Resort Comfort Side in the Turkish city of Side a few days earlier. Guests complained of vomiting, diarrhoea, high fever and convulsions, the channel reported. One traveller said they wrote to their tour agent to ask about the reports and was told the hotel had not notified anyone that the holiday could pose any danger.

Despite taking precautions, the family's child began vomiting and suffering diarrhoea on the third day of the trip, followed by fever and convulsions. The family ended up in hospital with severe poisoning.

According to the Russians, hospital staff said there had been thousands of such cases, all from one area, and attributed the problem to the sewage system. The emergency department was crowded, mostly with poisoning cases and mainly children. In their group of four families, three children and one adult fell ill.

The report follows an earlier complaint by a Russian tourist about dirt and unsanitary conditions at the Vietnamese resort of Nha Trang, where she said waste was clogging the city beach and most holidaymakers refused to go into the sea.