Mega aquarium EXPLODES in German hotel, injuring two people and filling lobby with fish and a MILLION litres of water
- The 46ft-high fish tank, located in the foyer of Radisson Blu hotel in Berlin, burst
- Incident at AquaDom aquarium left two people suffering injuries from glass
- Emergency services shut major road next to complex due to volume of water
A huge aquarium exploded inside a German hotel today, injuring two people and filling the lobby with 1,500 fish and a million litres of water.
The 46ft-high fish tank, which is located in the foyer of the Radisson Blu hotel in central Berlin, burst at around 5.50am this morning.
Berlin police said that as well as causing ‘incredible maritime damage’, the incident at the AquaDom aquarium left two people suffering injuries from glass shards.
The explosion filled the hotel lobby with over a million litres of water and 1,500 tropical fish. The leaking water reached the outside of the complex, prompting police to close a nearby street.
The 46ft-high fish tank, which is located in the foyer of the Radisson Blu hotel in central Berlin, burst at around 5.50am this morning. Pictured: The aquarium before it burst (left), after it burst (right)
Berlin police said that as well as causing ‘incredible maritime damage’, the incident at the AquaDom aquarium left two people suffering injuries from glass shards. Pictured: Devastation from inside the hotel foyer
More than 100 emergency workers were at the scene, Berlin’s firefighting service said
Footage from inside the hotel showed extensive damage to the transparent aquarium with debris scattered all around.
More than 100 emergency workers were at the scene, Berlin’s firefighting service said.
‘The aquarium is damaged, water is leaking out. The situation is unclear at the moment,’ it added.
A general view of a street outside a hotel after a leak of the AquaDom aquarium in central Berlin near Alexanderplatz, Germany, on Friday
Emergency services work on a street outside a hotel after a leak of the AquaDom aquarium in central Berlin near Alexanderplatz, with water poured out onto the street, in Berlin
Berlin police on Twitter urged drivers to avoid the area, warning that water is ‘massively’ leaking from the aquarium.
Emergency services shut a major road next to the complex that leads from Alexanderplatz toward the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin due to the large volume of water that had flooded out of the building.
The road as well as the sidewalks outside the complex were littered with debris.
Buses were sent to the complex to provide shelter for hotel guests leaving the building, police said on Twitter, as outside temperatures in Berlin stood around -7 degrees Celsius (19.4F).
Emergency services shut a major road next to the complex that leads from Alexanderplatz toward the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin due to the large volume of water that had flooded out of the building
The cylindrical aquarium is located in the foyer of a Radisson Blu hotel and has a clear-walled elevator built inside to be used by visitors to the Sea Life leisure complex, which also houses a hotel, shops and restaurants.
According to the Sea Life website, the AquaDom is the largest freestanding cylindrical aquarium in the world. It contained 1,500 tropical fish before the incident and is a major tourist attraction in Berlin.
There was speculation that freezing temperatures had contributed to the leak, but police spokesman Martin Stralau said the cause of the incident was still being investigated.