A Berlin aquarium that housed around 1,500 fish burst on Friday morning. 1,000,000 litres (264.172 gallons of water) was spilled onto a busy road in Berlin’s Mitte district.
A total of 100 emergency personnel rushed to help. The scene was located in a leisure center that includes a Radisson Hotel, a Museum, Shops, Restaurants, and a Radisson Hotel. It also houses the DomAquaree Complex, which boasts the largest cylindrical freestanding aquarium measuring 14m (46ft) high.
Berlin Police stated on Twitter that “In addition to an unbelievable maritime damage…two people were hurt by glass splinters.”
Berlin’s fire brigade spokesperson said that emergency personnel were unable to reach the basement due to debris. He said that search and rescue dogs had been dispatched to the site.
According to the spokesperson, it is still not clear what caused the aquarium’s collapse. The fate of the fish was not revealed by the police or the fire brigade.
A spokesperson for the fire brigade stated that approximately 350 guests were staying in the hotel complex. They were requested to leave and pack up their belongings.
Police said that buses were brought to the area to shelter people who were leaving the hotel because the outside temperature in Berlin was around -7° Celsius (19.4degF).
Due to large amounts of water that had flooded from the building, emergency services closed a major highway that runs next to the compound that connects Alexanderplatz to Brandenburg Gate.
