In a Horrific Tragedy, the Massive Aquarium “AquaDom” in Berlin Bursts, Tossing 1,500 Fish Into the Streets.

With 1,500 tropical fish and a million liters (264,000 gallons) of water splattered out, the AquaDom, the largest cylindrical aquarium in the world and part of the Radisson Blu hotel in Berlin, collapsed yesterday Friday morning for an undetermined reason yet. According to Berlin’s fire department, two minor injuries from glass cuts resulted from the water and unspecified damage to the hotel.

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AquaDom’s terrorizing explosion:

Naz Masraff, a hotel guest, remarked, “It felt like an earthquake.”

Sandra Weeser, a different hotel guest, described the scene, “The entire aquarium erupted, leaving nothing but destruction. A lot of garbage and dead fish”. According to a representative for Union Investment, which administers the real estate fund that owns the property, the 1,500 fish from the aquarium suffocated, which led to their terrific death.

James Klein, a firefighter, later revealed to the local media that few fish had been discovered alive in areas where leftover water had accumulated. He claimed they were being relocated to different aquariums hoping to rescue them.

Additionally, according to officials quoted by the Associated Press, local officials are trying to save another 400–500 fish trapped in smaller tanks beneath the hotel lobby.

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The AquaDom exploded just before six in the morning, causing flooding that reached Karl-Liebknecht Strasse, one of the busiest streets in the heart of Berlin.

The tank had released an actual tsunami of water, according to Mayor Franziska Giffey, although the early morning timing had spared far worse injuries. “We were still quite fortunate, she continued, despite all the destruction. If the aquarium had exploded even an hour later when more people would have been awake and around the hotel and the surrounding neighborhood, she claimed, we would have had tremendous human harm”.

Related to the article: Why Did these Structures Collapse in the Past Few Decades?

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“I just noticed the large aquarium had shattered after hearing a thunderous crash. I realized that there was a lot of furniture lying on the ground when I looked outside, and that’s when I concluded that the aquarium had burst and stuff had been escorted out”, said a witness.

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The accident, according to Bild magazine, was the consequence of material fatigue. It has been speculated that cracking in the aquarium may have been caused due to cold conditions, which overnight reached as low as -6C. The AquaDom accident comes sadly as it recently was renovated in the summer of 2020 following a €2.6 million, 2.5-year refurbishment project.