Drinking bout in South kills German student

Agence France-Presse

The victim, Rafael Neca, was found dead Thursday by paramedics in a hotel room in Kemer, a small resort town on the Mediterranean coast, said the doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Six other students, aged between 18 and 20, were hospitalized at a private clinic in the city of antalya, 50 kilometers north of Kemer.

"Two of the patients are on life support machines. The remaining four will recover," the doctor said.

Blood samples were taken from the patients to determine whether they were suffering from drinking excessive amounts of spirits or consuming bootleg spirits made from deadly methyl alcohol, he added.

The results are expected in the coming days.

Five people died recently in the northwestern province of Bursa from drinking adulterated rakı, a powerful, aniseed-flavored liqueur that is considered the country's unofficial national drink.

In 2005, 22 people had died from drinking bootleg rakı.