Mass sickness in Alanya blamed on infected water in swimming pool

Experts of the Turkish Health and Agriculture Ministries took water and food samples immediately after the Russian tourists came to clinics. Both ministries are to announce the results on August 1, Moseyev said.

Executive Director of the Association of Russian Travel Agents Maya Lomidze presumes that it was an enteric viral infection, rather than dysentery.

According to specified data provided by Rosturism, more than 200 tourists accommodated at Gunes Garden hotel in Alanya, including 112 tourists from Russia, applied to medical establishments in Alanya, asking for medical assistance. The majority of the patients have already been discharged from the medical establishments, but eight Russian citizens, whose condition is satisfactory as the Turkish doctors said, still remain in hospital wards. Turkish doctors, who had initially planned to discharge them from the hospital by Wednesday evening, to be on the safe side decided to keep them in the hospital longer, and are now planning to let the patients out of the hospital on Thursday evening, Moseyev said.

"Rosturism has brought the situation under special control. We should do everything possible to avoid similar incidents in future", Moseyev said.