A huge aquarium in the lobby of a German hotel burst open early Friday, injuring at least two people and sending a flood of water through the foyer and into the street along with hundreds of dead tropical fish.
The nearly 50-foot-tall cylindrical aquarium, AquaDom, is located in the Radisson Blu hotel, in Berlins DomAquarée business and leisure complex. It housed some 1,500 fish, and released about a million liters of water (264,000 gallons) when it burst, officials said.
A video shared by Twitter user @DeparisJulien shows emergency vehicles, along with news crews and bystanders, lined up on the road in front of the hotel, which is closed to traffic. Debris can be seen spilling out of the hotel and into the street.
About 100 firefighters from the Berlin Fire Department responded to the scene, and deployed rescue dogs to search the building as it was evacuated. The Berlin Police Department tweeted that heat buses were arriving at the hotel for guests that had to evacuate into the cold outside.
Officials said two people were injured by glass shards. Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey tweeted that “it was a blessing in disguise” that no one was seriously injured in the incident.
According to the fire department, the building is “badly damaged.” Berlin Police tweeted Friday that “there are no indications of a criminal offense” in connection with the tanks collapse.
