A giant aquarium exploded at a German hotel today, injuring two people and filling the lobby with 1,500 fish and a million liters of water.
The 14-meter-high tank, located in the lobby of the Radisson Blu Hotel in downtown Berlin, opened at around 05:50.
According to the German police, the incident at the AquaDom aquarium injured two people through broken glass and caused “incredible damage to the sea”.
The explosion filled the hotel lobby with more than a million liters of water and 1,500 tropical fish. The escaping water reached the outside of the complex, forcing police to close a nearby street.
The 14 meter high aquarium, located in the lobby of the Radisson Blu Hotel in Berlin-Mitte, exploded this morning around 5:50. Pictured: the aquarium before the incident (left) and the wreck after (right)
Berlin police said the incident at the AquaDom aquarium not only caused “incredible damage at sea”, but also injured two people from broken glass. In the photo: Destruction in the hotel lobby
According to the Berlin fire brigade, more than 100 rescuers were deployed
Footage from inside the hotel showed extensive damage to the transparent aquarium, with only the frame still standing.
There were broken windows and damaged furniture everywhere.
More than 100 emergency services were at the site and search dogs were used to search the building for people who may have been trapped under the rubble, the Berlin fire department said.
“The aquarium is damaged, water is leaking. The situation is currently unclear,” the spokesperson said. “A million gallons of water and all the fish in it were spilled on the ground floor.”
German MP Sandra Weeser, who was staying at the hotel when the aquarium burst, said she was woken up by “some kind of shock wave”.
Debris from the broken aquarium can be seen on the ground in front of the Radisson Blu Hotel in Berlin on Friday
A general view of a street in front of a hotel after a leak at the AquaDom aquarium in Berlin-Mitte near Alexanderplatz today
Debris littered the streets after a giant aquarium burst at the Seal Life Aquarium in Berlin-Mitte on Friday
In the photo: the aquarium with 1,500 tropical fish before the explosion at the hotel
“The building shook slightly and my first guess was an earthquake,” she told the Berliner Morgenpost.
The area where the aquarium once stood was now just “dark and wet,” she said, recalling “seeing one of these big parrotfish frozen to the bottom.”
It was speculated that freezing temperatures as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 F) overnight caused the tank to burst, which then exploded under the weight of the water.
However, police said the cause of the incident is still under investigation, but there is no evidence that it was the result of an attack.
About 350 people staying at the complex hotel were told to pack up and leave the building
Rescue services work on a street in front of a hotel after the AquaDom aquarium leaked in the German capital
Two people were injured by broken glass and had to be taken to hospital, a spokesman for the Berlin fire department said.
The witness Gwendolin Szyszkowitz told the German news channel n-tv that she heard a loud bang and initially feared that a bomb had exploded.
Berlin police urged motorists on Twitter to avoid the area and warned that “massive” water was leaking from the aquarium into the adjacent Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse.
Rescue workers had to close a main street next to the complex, which led from Alexanderplatz to Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, because of the large amounts of water pouring out of the building. The tram service has also been stopped.
Debris littered both the street and sidewalk outside the complex.
Emergency services moved to the site of a broken giant aquarium in Berlin on Friday
Rescue workers blocked a main road next to the complex, which leads from Alexanderplatz to the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, because of the large amounts of water that flowed from the building.
The area around the complex has been cordoned off and sniffer dogs have been deployed to search for possible victims of the destruction.
About 350 people staying at the complex hotel were told to pack up and leave the building.
Buses were dispatched to pick up hotel guests who had left the building, police said on Twitter, as the outside temperature in Berlin hovered around -7 degrees Celsius.
A drone was deployed to map the extent of the destruction a fire department spokesman said.
The cylindrical aquarium is located in the lobby of a Radisson Blu hotel and features an interior transparent elevator for use by visitors to the Sea Life leisure complex, which also includes a hotel, shops and restaurants.
Operators say the aquarium has the largest cylindrical tank in the world and was home to 1,500 tropical fish of 80 different species before the incident.
The aquarium, which was last modernized in 2020 after its construction in 2004, is a major tourist magnet in Berlin.
The 10 minute elevator ride through the tank was one of the highlights of the attraction.
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James is an author and travel journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a love for exploring new cultures and discovering unique destinations, James brings his readers on a journey with him through his articles.
