A huge aquarium in Berlin, AquaDom, burst early on Friday, spilling 1 million liters (264,000 gallons) of water and around 1,500 exotic fish and debris onto a major road in the busy Mitte district, causing a wave of devastation.
Police said parts of the building, which also contains a hotel, cafes, and a chocolate store, were damaged in the incident. Berlin’s fire service said two people were slightly injured.
None of the animals inside the saltwater aquarium, which contained clownfish, teira batfish and palette surgeonfish, survived.
The aquarium was a major tourist magnet in Berlin. The 10-minute elevator ride through was the main tourist attraction. The 25 meters tall (82 feet tall) AquaDom was first built in 2003 and modernized in 2020.
What happened?
At around 5:45 a.m. local time (0445 GMT) there was a very loud noise and parts of the facade of the hotel where the aquarium was located flew onto the street, according to the police.
Mayor Franziska Giffey said the tank had unleashed a “veritable tsunami” of water but the early morning timing had prevented far more injuries.
“Despite all the destruction, we were still very lucky,” she said. “We would have had terrible human damage” had the aquarium burst even an hour later, once more people were awake and in the hotel and the surrounding area, she said.
The company that owns the AquaDom said that the reasons for the incident were “still unclear.”
All 400 guests who were staying at the Radisson hotel have been evacuated.
Police are still investigating what caused the aquarium to shatter and currently don’t believe it was a criminal act.