The 2011 Turkish Riviera mass alcohol poisoning was an event that occurred on May 26–27, 2011 during a party on a yacht voyage of mostly female

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n tourists on the way from

Bodrum Bodrum () is a port city in Muğla Province, southwestern Turkey, at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Its population was 35,795 at the 2012 census, with a total of 136,317 inhabitants residing within the district's borders. Known in ancient ...

Antalya Antalya () is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, fifth-most populous city in Turkey as well as the capital of Antalya Province. Located on Anatolia's southwest coast bordered by the Taurus Mountains, Antalya is the largest Turkish cit ...

, southwestern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. It led to the deaths of five people, and the hospitalisation of twenty others, some in critical condition, after consuming alcoholic drinks mixed with

methanol Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical and the simplest aliphatic alcohol, with the formula C H3 O H (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often abbreviated as MeOH). It is a ...

, served at the yacht's bar. A consignment of fake whisky had been supplied by a distributor with a fictitious address.

Incident

The Russian women were employed as managers and tour guides with Russian travel agencies, and came to

in the western

Turkish Riviera The Turkish Riviera ( tr, Türk Rivierası), also known popularly as the Turquoise Coast, is an area of southwest Turkey encompassing the provinces of Antalya and Muğla, and to a lesser extent Aydın, southern İzmir and western Mersin. The ...

for a

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

trip organized by Russian tourist company Mostravel. Together with Russian employees of local Turkish travel companies, the women took a yacht voyage along the coast of

in southwestern Turkey, a popular tour known locally as "

Blue Cruise A Blue Cruise, also known as a ''Blue Voyage'' () or ''Blue Tour'' (), is a term used for recreational voyages along the Turkish Riviera, on Turkey's southwestern coast along the Aegean and Mediterranean seas. The cruise is typically a week- ...

" ( tr, Mavi Yolculuk). The yacht ''Orhan-5'' was chartered for this purpose, and sailed from May 26–27, 2011 with some 60 Russian tourists aboard. The mass poisoning occurred during a party on the night of May 27 aboard the yacht. Twenty passengers had

alcohol poisoning Alcohol intoxication, also known as alcohol poisoning, commonly described as drunkenness or inebriation, is the negative behavior and physical effects caused by a recent consumption of alcohol. In addition to the toxicity of ethanol, the main ps ...

after consuming drinks served from the yacht's bar. The Russian women enjoyed drinking whiskey with cola. Anastasia Lavrenko, one of the young women aboard, told a Russian newspaper that they all had 10-12 glasses of cocktails. She added that even though she felt the alcohol tasted unusually strong, she did not realise anything. Arriving in Antalya the next morning, the tourists went to their hotel to rest for the next day's flight back home. Many of them experienced

motion sickness Motion sickness occurs due to a difference between actual and expected motion. Symptoms commonly include nausea, vomiting, cold sweat, headache, dizziness, tiredness, loss of appetite, and increased salivation. Complications may rarely include d ...

, vomiting and loss of consciousness. The affected persons were hospitalised and diagnosed with alcohol poisoning.

Deaths

Some twenty Russian citizens and a Turkish man were affected by alcohol poisoning. Three women died, others were hospitalized in Antalya and

Denizli Denizli is an industrial city in the southwestern part of Turkey and the eastern end of the alluvial valley formed by the river Büyük Menderes, where the plain reaches an elevation of about . Denizli is located in the country's Aegean Region. ...

, with six placed in intensive care stations in critical condition. On May 30, Marina Sheveleva (russian: Марина Шевелева), born in 1989, was the first death at a hospital in her country, after her condition worsened during the flight to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. Two other Russian citizens, Maria Shalyapina (russian: Мария Шаляпина), born in 1983, and Aigul Zalayeva (russian: Айгуль Залаева), born in 1991, died in the following days at the hospital of

Akdeniz University Akdeniz University ( tr, Akdeniz Üniversitesi) is a public research university established in Antalya, Turkey. It has been chosen as the second most beautiful university in Turkey, after Boğaziçi University, with its campus having a wide and gr ...

in Antalya. On the night of June 5, 2011, 28-year-old Alexandr Zhuchkov (russian: Алекса́ндр Жучков) died in the hospital of

Pamukkale University Pamukkale University (PAU) is a public university in Denizli, Turkey. The university has 45,000 students and 1400 academicians. History Early years Pamukkale University's history began as a Female Normal School in 1957 in Denizli. It then tu ...

in Denizli, where he had been in intense supportive care since May 28. He became the fourth Russian death. His body was transferred to Russia by the Russian Consulate. Twenty-two-year-old Viktoria Nikolaeva (russian: Виктория Николаева), who was being treated in the intensive station of Akdeniz University's hospital in Antalya, died due to brain damage in the evening hours of June 20, 2011. The fifth person died in the early morning hours of July 4, 2011.

Investigation

Turkish police immediately launched an investigation into the mass poisoning. Samples of alcohol were taken from the yacht for analysis. The Investigation Committee of the Russian Federation also opened an investigation. It is believed that the whiskey served contained

, making the drink toxic. The Turkish Minister of Agriculture, who is also responsible for carrying out food safety control in the country, stated that the alcoholic beverage served on the yacht was supplied by the company "Jasmine", based in Northern Cyprus, and was imported by the company "Birlik Gıda" in Ankara. About 12,000 bottles of fake whiskey labeled "Mister Burdon" were distributed in the provinces of

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

Mersin Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Mersin Province, Mersin (İçel) Province. It is made up of four municipalities and dis ...

and

Muğla Muğla () is a city in southwestern Turkey. The city is the center of the District of Menteşe and Muğla Province, which stretches along Turkey's Aegean coast. Muğla's center is situated inland at an altitude of 660 m and lies at a dista ...

. Turkish police found out that the address of Birlik Gıda was fictitious. The ministry stated that the methyl alcohol in the whiskey consumed was three times higher than normal. Police made 22 arrests and seized thousands of bottles of bootleg liquor.

References

{{Turkey topics

Alcohol poisoning Alcohol intoxication, also known as alcohol poisoning, commonly described as drunkenness or inebriation, is the negative behavior and physical effects caused by a recent consumption of alcohol. In addition to the toxicity of ethanol, the main ps ...

2011 health disasters Accidental deaths in Turkey Alcohol-related deaths in Turkey 21st century in Antalya Bodrum Crime in Turkey Deaths from food poisoning Health disasters in Turkey Methanol poisoning incidents Russian diaspora in Turkey Tourism in Turkey Turkish Riviera