Giant aquarium in lobby of Radisson Blu hotel in Berlin bursts
The huge saltwater aquarium in the hotel located in a busy district of Germany's capital suddenly burst open. Two people were injured by shards of glass and the explosive force of the aquarium's failure sent parts of the building's facade flying onto the street outside.
The tank itself described as the largest free-standing cylindrical aquarium in the world was 52 feet high and almost 38 feet in diameter, made of acrylic glass. Visitors could ride an elevator right up through the middle of the aquarium. Around 1,500 saltwater fish of more than 100 different species lived in the tank.
The Mayor of Berlin Franziska Giffey who went to the hotel to see the damage, described the tank burst as being like a tsunami. She expressed relief it had happened so early in the morning - saying an hour or so later, and the lobby and street outside would have been busy with visitors, many of them children.
A member of the German federal parliament who had been staying at the hotel, told local television that she had been woken up by "a kind of shock wave" and described the scene outside the hotel as a "picture of devastation". She said fish which may have been saved had frozen to death.
Berlin's fire brigade said more than 100 firefighters were sent to the scene and it was not clear what caused the break. Police said "massive amounts" of water were flowing into nearby streets and people in the area were alerted drive cautiously.
Police also told local media there is no evidence the break was the result of a targeted attack. But there has been speculation that freezing temperature - which dropped as low as -6C overnight - may have caused a crack in the tank.
Berlin's public transport authority said Karl-Liebknecht Street outside the hotel had been closed off due to "an extreme amount of water on the road". Trams service in the area was also stopped.
The aquarium called AquaDom was modernized two years ago. It was given the Guinness World Record for being the world's largest cylindrical aquarium, when it opened in 2003.
According to reports at the time of its construction, it cost about €12.8m (£11.2m) to build.
Source: Outside Source
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