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A one million liter-aquarium in a Berlin hotel — containing around 1,500 tropical fish — burst on Friday, flooding the lobby and surrounding streets.
At least two people were injured by glass shards, according to police.
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Police described “unbelievable maritime damage” at the Raddison Blu in the Mitte district of Berlin. Around 100 emergency responders rushed to the site this morning where a major road near the hotel, which connects Alexanderplatz to the Brandenburg Gate, was shut down because of flooding. Tram services in the area were also temporarily suspended.
Berlin’s fire brigade said it was not immediately clear what caused the burst and that an investigation is under way.
“Just chaos. The whole aquarium burst and what’s left is total devastation. Lots of dead fish, debris,” hotel guest Sandra Weeser told Reuters news agency.
Known as the “AquaDom,” the aquarium won the Guinness World Record for the largest freestanding cylindrical aquarium in 2003. The attraction was last refurbished in 2020 and apparently contained more than 100 species of tropical fish.
Hotel guests were evacuated and relocated to a separate hotel, according to public broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
