Four Russian tourists died mysterious deaths at Gloria Palace Hotel in Albania. This is a five-star hotel situated on the Adriatic Sea near the village of Kerret. A room at this hotel costs from 70 to 120 euros per night.
The family of Russians — parents, their daughter and her fiancé — arrived at Gloria Palace on October 15 at night. About an hour later, their lifeless bodies were found in the winter (indoor) pool. It was originally reported that they were found in the sauna, where they had allegedly stayed longer than was recommended.
The hotel administrator wanted to inform the guests that drinks and fruit were ready for them. The tourists were not responding to her calls, and the woman went to the pool to see what was happening there.
Later, it was reported that the Russian tourists refused from snacks, and the hotel administrator came to the pool for another reason. She found one of the tourists lying on a sun lounger, two others were on a bench, and another one was found by the pool side, with feet in the water.
The Albanian Daily News reported with referenсу to the police that the tourists died of chlorine poisoning. An employee of Gloria Palace told the police that the pool, where the victims were found, had been closed for about a week. In the morning of October 15, when the Russian tourists were found dead, the employee had cleaned the pool with chlorine. The police suspect that the employee may have used too much cleaning agent. Experts took water samples from the pool.
According to another version, the tourists may have been poisoned with food. They called the hotel in advance and asked to prepare a SPA zone for them so that they could have a good rest after a long journey. Before arriving at the hotel, they had visited North Macedonia and the Albanian city of Librazhd. They had had food in both of those places. However, the tourists refused from dinner after they arrived at Gloria Palace.
The Office of the Albanian Prosecutor General filed a murder case, although Albanian law enforcement agencies did not make a final conclusion about the reasons that led to the death of the Russian tourists.
The Russian Embassy in Albania asked the media to wait for the results of the forensic examination.
The deceased are a married couple, their daughter and her fiancé:
Ekaterina Burenkova and Nikita Belousov were going to get married — they went to Albania with Ekaterina's parents before the wedding. According to their relatives, none of the victims took alcohol or drugs.