Foreigners Dying in Istanbul

Abstract

The study included 411 deaths selected from 14,647 medicolegal deaths autopsied in the Morgue Department of Forensic Medicine Institute Directorate, affiliated with the Ministry of Justice, between 1998 and 2002. Data were collected from court documents, coroner's investigation reports, and autopsy reports. The parameters of age, gender, nationality and origin, cause and place of death in foreigners dying in Istanbul were evaluated in the study. Out of 14,647 medicolegal deaths, 3.5% were foreigners from 34 different nationalities. The nationality with the highest rate of foreigner deaths (34%) was Romanian. Out of 411 deaths, 74.3% were male and 25.7% were female. Of all cases, 64.4% were tourists visiting Istanbul and 35.6% had a job in Istanbul. Of 146 foreigners employed in Istanbul, 94.5% did not have a work permit, while only 5.5% had a work permit.