He died from a tooth whitening treatment

One of three Belfast men who mysteriously fell ill in Turkey during a trip for teeth whitening treatment has said he is "back on his feet" while paying tribute to his dead friend. Richard Molloy, 33, was discovered dead inside an apartment, and pals Aaron Callaghan and Declan Carson, a dad-of-two, were left in a coma. Mr Callaghan and Mr Carson, both in their 30s, regained consciousness and have reportedly been discharged from hospital. In his first social media post since the incident, "gutted" Mr Callaghan posted two photos of the pals during their trip and described the death of Mr Molloy, also known as Richie, as "tragic". Have you been affected by this story? Email webnews@mirror.co.uk. Mr Callaghan wrote on Facebook: "Thank you folks for all the well wishes and messages, too many to get back to individually but it’s means the world. "Thankfully me and Declan are safe and back up on our feet but thoughts and prayers are with the Molloy family on the tragic passing of big Richie. "An absolute gentleman, I’m absolutely gutted." Turkish police and a local prosecutor's office launched an investigation after the three men, all DJs from north Belfast, fell ill at their rented flat in Didim, a seaside resort on the Aegean coast. They were partying in the hours before they became unwell, according to Turkish media. It is said the men had been given "premeds" for their dental treatment and told not to drink alcohol. There was no suggestion the medication, dental treatment or substances were the cause of Mr Molloy's death or the reason the other men fell unconscious. Police were said to be looking at a number of possible causes for the men falling ill and losing consciousness. According to official records, the alarm was raised at 3.15am on Saturday and the first ambulance arrived on scene eight minutes later, the Sabah newspaper reported. Mr Molloy died and Mr Callaghan and Mr Carson, a dad-of-two, were hospitalised. At one point both were in a coma in intensive care, according to reports. A post-mortem was taking place to determine the cause of Mr Molloy's death. His sister Lydia has travelled to Turkey to collect his body. The conditions of Mr Callaghan and Mr Carson improved as they received treatment in hospital, and Turkish reports say they have been discharged from hospital. Turkish police are understood to have arrested two people during the investigation. It is said the friends had been in Turkey for about ten days when they became unwell after partying on Friday night, the Bodrum Olay newspaper reported. Mr Carson is alleged to have told police they spent the night drinking in bars and back at their flat, the Milliyet newspaper reported. He allegedly told investigators that Mr Molloy couldn't breathe at one point, and he and Mr Callaghan also collapsed and lost consciousness. Mr Carson told how he later woke up in hospital, the report added. Both were on life support and in a life-threatening condition at one

• 2020-10-08T21:04:26+00:00
• Duration: 05:28

• Turkey
• News
• news2020
• TEETH
• RichardMolloy
• toothwhitening

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