Dec. 16, 2022 – Berlin: The largest free-standing aquarium in the world, which housed about 1,500 exotic fish, burst on Friday morning in Berlin, Germany, flooding public streets with water, debris, and dead marine life.
The popular tourist attraction, the AquaDom, is in the Sea Life Center amid a Radisson hotel, a museum and several retail shops. The 14-metre-high cylindrical tank held 1 million litres of water and housed 80 species of fish before the burst.
The mayor of Berlin, Franziska Giffey, confirmed that “none of the 1,500 fish could be saved.”
The Guardian reported that the tank exploded just before 6 a.m. after a night of freezing temperatures in Berlin. Water rushed out of the building and onto the main road, forcing lamps, bellhop trolleys and retail merchandise into the street.
The Guardian reported that the tank exploded just before 6 a.m. after a night of freezing temperatures in Berlin. Water rushed out of the building and onto the main road, forcing lamps, bellhop trolleys and retail merchandise into the street.
Berlin police claimed two people were taken to hospital with minor injuries from glass splinters. Rescue dogs will search the building for anyone potentially trapped under the debris. The New York Times reported about 100 firefighters were on the scene to close the flooded road, evacuate hotel guests and assess the damage.
When hotel guests were evacuated from the Radisson this morning, many claimed to see dead, frozen fish strewn across the sidewalk.
The New York Times reported that one hotel guest told a local German news station that she thought a small earthquake had occurred when the tank exploded. She also said she had seen a dead parrot fish frozen on the sidewalk.
As of this writing, the cause of the aquarium’s destruction is unknown. Some have speculated the -10 C temperatures experienced in Berlin early Friday may have caused the tank to crack.
The company that owns the AquaDom, Union Investment Real Estate, said in a statement that it is “still unclear” what triggered the tank’s eruption. Police said there is no evidence the tank was tampered with.
