Bloomberg — In the early hours of the morning in Berlin, the world’s largest freestanding cylindrical aquarium exploded, spilling approximately 1 million liters of salt water and 1,500 fish into the hotel lobby where it was located.
Images shared by tourists and emergency crews showed shards of the 16-meter-tall cylinder filling the entrance hall of the Radisson Collection hotel in Berlin’s eastern outskirts, near the main cathedral and the Alexanderplatz square.
The force of the cascading water blew out the building’s front doors, spilling debris into the street, and registered on seismic measuring equipment. Two people were injured and are being treated, while the cause of the incident, which occurred at 5:45 a.m., is being investigated.
The AquaDom was the world’s largest aquarium of its kind, with a glass elevator that allowed visitors to ascend through the 11-meter-diameter cylinder and admire the 100 different species of sea creature it housed.
Sea Life Aquarium operated the structure, which first opened in 2005 and was extensively renovated a few years ago, as part of a larger marine exhibition space nearby.
Had looked at this as a place to stay should I ever get to Berlin, this is shocking. Lucky it happened at night and only a few people were injured