12/16/2022 10:36 (act. 12/16/2022 10:47)
According to the fire department, the giant aquarium with a million liters of water was destroyed very quickly. ©Portal/APA/tnn
The Aquadom at Sea Life in Berlin broke out on Friday morning for an unknown reason. 1,000 cubic meters of water destroyed parts of the hotel and flooded the streets.
A large aquarium at Sea Life near the Berlin Cathedral with 1,000 cubic meters of water and 1,500 fish has burst. Parts of the surrounding hotel were destroyed on Friday morning. According to the police, there was no evidence of aggression.
Large aquarium suddenly burst: Hotel in Berlin partially destroyed
Two people were injured and taken to the hospital. The fire department received an alarm from an automatic fire alarm in the hotel at 5:43 am. The cause of the incident is not yet known, according to police and fire officials.
Large Aquarium in Berlin Hotel Blast
Parts of the facade of the hotel in which the aquarium was located flew into the street. Large amounts of water were spilled onto the street. Police and firefighters were on duty from the morning, each about 100 people. It is not known whether the two injured were hotel employees or guests.
Masses of water from the 16-metre high aquarium flooded the streets
According to the fire brigade, the giant tank with one million liters of water was destroyed very quickly. “If the aquarium is faulty, it bursts suddenly,” said a spokesman for the fire department. “It’s not a small crack where the water is leaking out, but the whole aquarium suddenly burst.” All of the 1,500 or so fish that used to live there are no longer in the water.
A large part of the water probably flowed through the ground-floor doors into the street and thence into the canal. Not much water was found in the holds. The destroyed ground floor was searched by people with rescue dogs. Because of the severe damage, hotel guests also had to leave the building, a fire department spokesman said. Around 350 people were still in the hotel.
Aquadome at Sea Life housed 1,500 fish
According to the operator on the Internet, the Aquadom in Sea Life was the “largest freestanding cylindrical aquarium in the world”, an attraction in Berlin known to many tourists. The acrylic glass container was 16 meters high and had a diameter of 11.5 meters. Visitors could tour the interior of the aquarium in an elevator.
Around 1,500 fish of over 100 different species lived in the tank. The aquarium was filled with one million liters of salt water, which would be 1,000 cubic meters of water weighing 1,000 tons. According to information, the aquarium was extensively modernized until the summer of 2020. The site is very close to Alexanderplatz in Berlin with the TV Tower.