Visitors eat the popular Turkish stuffed baked potato dish known as "kumpir" at a waterfront square in Ortakoy, Istanbul, Turkey, May 23, 2025. Emrah Gurel/AP

Two children and their mother have died, with the father left fighting for his life, after eating street food at a popular Istanbul tourist site, Turkish officials and media said Friday.

The family reportedly fell ill on Wednesday after eating several popular street food dishes at a restaurant in the waterside neighborhood of Ortakoy, at the foot of a bridge spanning the Bosphorus.

The family, who were staying in the Fatih district, fell sick soon after and were rushed to the hospital, but the two children, aged 6 and 3, died, Istanbul's regional health chief Abdullah Emre Guner said on X on Thursday.

The mother and father were being treated in intensive care and an investigation was opened, he said.

The mother died a short time later, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc wrote 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.

Guner said an investigation has been initiated by the provincial health directorate.

Some media reports said the family had eaten mussels with rice, a popular snack often sold by street vendors, as well as "kumpir" — stuffed baked potatoes.

Other reports said they had eaten kokorec, a popular dish of grilled lamb entrails, and also mentioned Turkish Delight, saying the family was a Turkish family living in Germany who had come to Istanbul on holiday.

The incident in Turkey comes about five months after two butcher shops in northern France temporarily closed after a girl died from severe food poisoning.

Foodborne illness kills more than 900 Americans a year and sickens tens of millions annually, federal researchers said in a report released earlier this year. The actual number of people who get sick from eating food is unknown and likely far higher than official tallies, as only a small percentage of illnesses related to contaminated food is diagnosed and reported to public health officials.

Last year in the U.S., a listeria outbreak linked to recalled Boar's Head deli meat led to the deaths of at least 10 people and sickened dozens more.

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