Turkey takes new look at president's death

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ISTANBUL, Turkey, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Authorities in Turkey said they exhumed the body of former President Turgut Ozal Tuesday to take another look into the circumstances of his death in 1993.

An investigation was started earlier this year after witnesses recounted unusual circumstances around his sudden demise, which was attributed to a heart attack, Today's Zaman reported.

A large group of police investigators and forensic specialists, as well as a bomb disposal team, were on hand at Ozal's gravesite in the Topkapi district of Istanbul for the exhumation.

Afterwards, Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Turan Colakkadi said experts found the president's body to be "suitable for [forensic] examination."

Ozal's death was surrounded by a number of curious events. On the day he died, both his doctor and his nurse were away, mechanical problems prevented the staff from starting the ambulance, and there was no first aid equipment in Ozal's residence.

Ozal's doctor claimed the family did not want an autopsy. The family says they did.