Aquarium 'Tsunami' Causes Explosion, Kills Thousands Of Tropical Fish

GERMANY-AQUARIUM-FISH-ACCIDENT

Photo: Getty Images

The world's largest freestanding aquarium exploded, resulting in a "tsunami" of water that caused "unbelievable maritime damage," according to local authorities.

The incident at the AquaDom, located inside a Radisson Collection hotel at the DomAquarée business and leisure complex in Berlin, resulted in the deaths of all 1,500 tropical fish housed and left two people injured, according to Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey and the Berlin Police and Fire departments.

“Unfortunately, none of the 1,500 fish could be saved,” Giffey told reporters via the Washington Post.

"In addition to the unbelievable maritime damage (...) two people were injured by glass splinters," Berlin police said on Twitter via CNN.

The Berlin Fire Department said 100 of its firefighters responded to the scene in a tweet updating the situation as it unfolded.

"The aquarium is damaged, water is leaking," the department wrote, adding that "the situation is not clear at the moment."

Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey said 1 million liters (264,000) of water leaked from the AquaDom during the incident, which she referred to as a "tsunami."

Berlin Fire Department spokesman Adrian Wentzel told CNN affiliate NVT that the explosion took place around 5:50 a.m. local time on Friday (December 16).

Several clips shared online by hotel guests showed the destruction from inside the Radisson Collection after the explosion took place.

"Just chaos. The whole aquarium burst and what's left is total devastation. Lots of dead fish, debris. It is quite a drama," a hotel guest told Reuters following the incident.

Radisson said it has closed the Berlin hotel and relocated all guests amid the ongoing investigation.


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