Four Russian tourists died mysteriously at the Gloria Palace Hotel in Albania. This is a five star hotel located on the Adriatic Sea near the village of Kerret. A room in this hotel costs 70 to 120 euros per night.

The family of Russians – the parents, their daughter and her fiancé – arrived at Gloria Palace overnight on October 15. About an hour later, their lifeless bodies were found in the (indoor) winter pool. It was initially reported that they were found in the sauna, where they would have stayed longer than recommended.

The hotel administrator made a point of informing the customers that drinks and fruit were ready for them. Tourists did not answer her calls and the woman went to the pool to see what was going on.

Later it was reported that Russian tourists refused snacks and the hotel administrator came to the pool for some other reason. She found one of the tourists lying on a lounge chair, two others were on a bench and another was found by the pool with his feet in the water.

Albanian daily news reported to the police that tourists died of chlorine poisoning. A Gloria Palace employee told police the swimming pool, where the victims were found, had been closed for about a week. On the morning of October 15, when Russian tourists were found dead, the employee had cleaned the pool with chlorine. Police suspect the employee of using too much cleaning product. Experts took water samples from the swimming pool.

According to another version, the tourists were poisoned with food. They called the hotel ahead of time and asked to prepare a SPA area for them so that they could rest after a long trip. Before arriving at the hotel, they had visited North Macedonia and the Albanian town of Librazhd. They had eaten at these two places. However, the tourists refused to have dinner after arriving at Gloria’s Palace.

The Albanian Attorney General’s office has filed a murder complaint, although Albanian law enforcement has not drawn a definitive conclusion on the reasons that led to the deaths of Russian tourists.

The Russian Embassy in Albania has asked the media to wait for the results of the forensic examination.

The deceased are a married couple, their daughter and her fiancé:

• Nikita Belousov, 37,
• Ekaterina Burenkova, 31 years old,
• Natalya Burenkova, 58 years old
• and Sergei Burenkov, 60 years old.

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 consumed alcohol or drugs.