Giant aquarium explodes in Berlin

Firefighters were called to the Radisson Blu hotel in the early hours of Friday morning after a giant cylindrical aquarium built into the hotel’s lobby exploded onto the surrounding streets of the Mitte district.

Renowned aquarium in Berlin hotel explodes

The AquaDom, a giant aquarium which towered over the lobby of the Radisson Blu hotel in Berlin, has exploded, causing debris to burst onto the streets of the German city.

During the early hours of Friday morning, around 100 members of the emergency services were called to the hotel. As of yet, it is still unknown what caused the 16-metre-high aquarium to burst.

Writing on Twitter, Berlin’s fire brigade announced, “The aquarium is damaged, water is leaking. The situation is not clear at the moment.” So far, only two people are known to have needed medical attention, after they were injured by glass splinters.

 

Aquarium debris spills onto Berlin streets

According to reports by Deutsche Welle, at 5.45am loud noises were heard and the facade of the aquarium flew on to Karl-Liebknecht-Straße where the hotel is located, just metres from the popular tourist sights of the Berliner Dom and Humboldt Forum. The one million litres of water which filled the gigantic cylinder also spilled onto the surrounding streets.

The AquaDom was originally opened in 2004 and housed 1.500 fish of over 100 different species. The aquarium had a lift built into its centre, which guests could enter to get a closer look at the fish.