Mystery unresolved over Belgian student’s death

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

This photo shows the hotel terrace where Nathan Van Iseghem (inset) reportedly jumped off. Only ventilation pipes are located in the terrace. DHA photo

Mystery remains over the death of a Belgian exchange student who was reportedly captured by a security camera jumping to his death from a hotel terrace.

Nathan Van Iseghem, an Erasmus student in the Economics Department of Istanbul University, died on Dec. 1 after jumping from a hotel terrace where only ventilation pipes were located.

He was reportedly heading back from a bar in Istanbul’s central Beyoğlu district to his home in Şişli, after a Friday night spent with friends.

Security camera footage

A security camera captured Iseghem climbing on ventilation machines and jumping from a height of 20 meters at 2 a.m. in the morning.

He was found heavily injured on the road, with tire tracks on his body and ribs broken, according to eyewitnesses. He was immediately taken to hospital but doctors were unable to save his life.

His friends gave testimonies in the hospital on the same night, saying that Iseghem “was not the kind of person who would commit suicide,” according to Doğan news agency.

Iseghem did not suffer from depression and did not seem to have other serious problems, said Isegehem’s friends from Istanbul University.
 
Two of his close friends have left Turkey to return to Belgium for some time, deeply saddened by his death, Erasmus coordinator Sevin Hatipoğlu told the Hürriyet Daily News yesterday. An official from the Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institute said Iseghem’s autopsy had been completed and that his body was being kept in the institution’s morgue to be handed in his family.

Final report

The final report will be aired in a month, according to the official, who asked to remain anonymous.

Other police records have defined the incident as “suspicious death,” daily Milliyet reported yesterday.

Meanwhile, Istanbul University and the Erasmus Student Network have published a post on their Facebook page extending their condolences.

“Today is unfortunately one of the saddest day that we could ever witness in our ESN Family, It’s such a day that our beloved Erasmus student Nathan will no longer be among us. I’m humbly inviting you to do your best and only remember him, pray for him,” the post reads.

The Belgian diplomatic mission to Istanbul and the Beyoğlu police station both did not reply to Hürriyet Daily News’ questions regarding the incident.