Giant Berlin hotel aquarium with 1 million liters of water, 1,500 fish bursts

Berlin, Dec 16 (EFE).- A massive aquarium tank containing a million liters of water and 1,500 tropical fish burst in the lobby of a Berlin hotel Friday, causing extensive damage and injuring two people, authorities said.

The AquaDom at the Radisson hotel was the largest free-standing cylindrical aquarium in the world.

The explosion, the cause of which is yet unknown, caused the one million liters of water to cascade out into the hotel and into the street, the Berlin fire department said on Twitter.

The department said two people had been injured and 35 others were accounted for.

The incident occurred at around 5.45am on Friday, a police spokesperson said, adding that parts of the hotel’s facade were pulled off the structure and into the street.

Germany’s Bild newspaper suggested the aquarium burst due to degraded materials despite the fact it recently underwent a 2.5-year renovation at a cost of 2.6 million euros, reopening in 2020.

The Radisson hotel is located close to Berlin’s iconic Alexanderplatz and the city’s Museum Island. EFE

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