The Investigative Committee of Russia (ICR), the country’s main investigative authority, has begun inquiries into the deaths of four Russian tourists in Albania.
On Saturday, two men and two women were found dead inside the spa of a hotel in the tourist village of Qerret, near Durrës.
Head of ICR Alexander Bastrykin has instructed the Russian Department of Investigation and Forensic Medicine to gather information from Albanian authorities and report on the circumstances leading to the deaths.
The agency cited early media reports in Albania saying that “the cause of death of the Russians may have been chlorine in the hotel pool. The employee might have used too much cleaning agent, which led to the deaths.”
However, preliminary investigations by Albanian police point to asphyxiation as the probable cause. A final forensics report has yet to be issued.
On Monday, the Russian Embassy in Albania confirmed the identity of the four victims and issued a statement saying they are collaborating with local authorities to investigate the matter.
