Ankara - Two hotel workers have been arrested in connection with the deaths of three German tourists due to alcohol poisoning, Turkish media reported Tuesday.

The tourists, students at a vocational college in Germany, were on holiday at the Mediterranean resort of Kemer.

On the night of March 26, the group was in a hotel room drinking liquor purchased from the Anatolia Beach Hotel in the Mediterranean resort town of Kemer when they called for help after one of the group fell unconscious.

Ambulance paramedics found Rafael Neca, 21, dead and transported the other tourists to a local hospital. Two others were in a coma and died after being flown to Germany.

CNN-Turk reported that chemical tests revealed high levels of methanol in the liquor.

The two hotel employees arrested were managers responsible for food and beverage supplies. Three waiters at the hotel were questioned by police and later released. Arrest warrants have been issued for the man suspected of delivering the alcohol to the hotel, as well as the owner of the delivery company.

The Vatan newspaper reported that lawyers for the Anatolia Beach Hotel had asked that a news blackout be ordered, a request that Vatan said was being looked upon favourably by prosecutors.

Turkish media have complained that German news reporting of the alcohol poisoning deaths are hurting Turkish tourism just as the summer season is about to start. (dpa)