A FAMILY-of-four who mysteriously suffocated to death in a five-star hotel sauna may were murdered, cops fear.

       Sergey Burenkov, 60, and wife Natalya Burenkova, 58, from Moscow, were on holiday in Albania with their daughter Katya, 31, and her partner Nikita Belousov, 37.

       5

       Sergey Burenkov and daughter Katya Credit: East2West 5

       Sergey Burenkov (right), wife Natalya Burenkova (left) and daughter Katya Burenkova, 31 (middle) were found dead in a sauna Credit: East2West

       They all died within minutes of each other from what was initially described as “asphyxia” at the Gloria Palace Hotel.

       Initially attention focused on the ventilation system of the sauna complex.

       There were also claims that chlorine in a pool may have caused the deaths, but this was dismissed as a “fabrication” by the Russian embassy in Tirana, the capital of Albania.

       Similarly, they have rejected other claims that alcohol poisoning may have been responsible, amid claims they did not drink.

       Reports say no fault has been found with the sauna or its ventilation system.

       The family died soon after going for a sauna one arrival at the luxury Gloria Palace Hotel.

       Most read in News

       PARKING MAD Family whose FIVE cars won't fit on their drive complain at cost of parking

       SCUFF LUCK Mum fuming as son's school Kickers wear out just days after she bought them

       TWISTED BY HATE Amess murder suspect 'radicalised after watching Anjem Choudary hate vids'

       Exclusive

       DUBAI HELL Brit spent 19 months in Dubai jail on drugs rap after cops misinterpreted text

       TUBE ABUSE Moment Tube passengers protect woman after commuter storms at her hurling abuse

       'LEFT TO DIE' Coke smuggling gran, 72, dies alone in agony 'abandoned' in Portuguese jail

       Pictures show Katya and her parents were keen travellers but for now mystery surrounds their sudden deaths on their latest trip.

       One local report said there are now “suspicions among prosecutors that we may be dealing with murder, but it is still too early to come to an accurate conclusion on how it was committed”.

       It is unclear why the tourist family were targeted.

       Reports say they had ordered drinks and food to the sauna complex but by the time a waiter delivered it, they were all dead.

       “I shouted several times that the drinks and the fruit were ready,” the hotel employee was quoted as saying by the Albanian media.

       “No-one answered, so I walked inside the sauna and saw them all.

       “One person was lying on a sun bed, two were on the (sauna) benches.

       “The last one was sitting down with his legs in the pool. They have all suffocated.”

       The Russian embassy in Tirana is working with local police in seeking to establish the cause of their deaths, said a Russian diplomatic source.

       An Albanian police statement said: “At around 22:20 in Qerret, Kavaja the dead bodies of four people with Russian nationality were found in a sauna.

       “All of them had been asphyxiated.”

       Reports said the hotel’s entire staff had been questioned in a resort some 30 miles west of capital Tirana.

       5

       Sergey Burenkov and wife Natalya Burenkova Credit: East2West 5

       Katya is pictured in London Credit: East2West 5

       The family were found dead at the Gloria Palace Hotel Credit: East2West