The largest cylindrical aquarium in the world exploded: it had eight floors and 1,500 fish ended up on the street

A Berlin aquarium, which housed 1,500 tropical fish in a structure 16 meters high and 11 meters in diameter, it exploded this morning for still unknown causes, causing extensive damage to the structures, two minor injuries and the death of the animals, local firefighters reported.

It concerns AquaDomthe “world’s largest” freestanding aquarium, which was located within the radisson collection hotel from the capital of Germany and was home to around 1,500 tropical fish.

After the explosion, which occurred at 5:45 am (1:45 am Argentine time), one million liters of water they overturned causing extensive damage inside the hotel and on the street, German outlet Frankfurter Allgemeine reported.

“The water in this aquarium almost completely leakedboth inside the building and towards the street,” a spokesman for the fire department said in statements to local press.

Due to high pressure aquarium waterWhen it exploded, it took furniture, doors, tables and glass with it, leaving the ground floor of the hotel “reduced to rubble”.

About a hundred firefighters were still at work on the spot after the explosion and after having rescued the 350 hotel guests who were evacuated used rescue dogs to make sure no one was left under the rubble, the local newspaper reported.

The emergency medical kit treated 30 people, two of whom sustained minor injuries from shards of glass.

Meanwhile, the 1,500 fish “couldn’t be saved anymore,” the fire brigade spokesman said.

The acrylic glass aquarium, opened in 2003 and reopened in 2020 after two years of renovations, it was almost 18 meters high and more than 11 meters in diameter, with an elevator with which visitors could admire the tropical marine world.

There lived various species of rays, sharks, seahorses, octopuses and tropical fish of 100 species.

The cause of the explosion is still unknown, although a “first guess” and the material fatigueas explained by the firefighters.

The Aquarium sea ​​lifelocated very nearby, “will remain closed until further notice,” said Marcel Kloos, regional director of parent company, Merlin Entertainments.

The nearby GDR museum built in the basement was partially flooded and will probably remain closed until the end of February. your manager, Gordon Godinhe told the regional newspaper Berliner Kurier that about “30% of the exhibition area has been destroyed”.