See Thousands Of Fish Fall On Hotel Guests After Massive Aquarium Explodes
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Guests at the Radisson Blu in Berlin, Germany, received an unexpected and rude awakening early this morning when a hotel aquarium exploded. News of the disaster spread rapidly via social media. And the images coming out are shocking.
The Radisson Blu aquarium was an impressive 82 feet high. It held 264,000 gallons (1 million liters) of water. And 1,500 tropical fish called the tank home.
Its official name is the AquaDom aquarium, which has been a major tourist attraction for years. The stunning aquarium sits in the lobby of Berlin’s Radisson Blu. And there are smaller aquariums positioned beneath it.
Around 5:50 am local time, some hotel guests heard a large crack that sounded almost like an explosion. The water and all 80 species of fish burst into the hotel lobby and onto the street outside. Unfortunately, responding emergency personnel could not save any of the 1,500 fish.
Two people received injuries from the exploding glass shards. However, it could have been much worse. The mayor of Berlin, Franziska Giffey, issued a statement about the aquarium disaster.
Giffey said, “Despite all the destruction, we were still very lucky. We would have had terrible human damage’ had the aquarium burst even an hour later, once more people were awake and in the hotel and the surrounding area.” The majority of the hotel’s 350 guests were safe.
Those guests were asked to leave and evacuated via buses. Approximately 100 firefighters, other emergency personnel, and rescue dogs responded to the aquarium explosion. Police have ruled out an attack.
But it is still unclear what may have caused the aquarium to burst. Some have already speculated that cold temperatures are to blame. They believe overnight temperatures of -10C (14F) may have caused a small crack to form.
And if a crack formed, the water pressure would have resulted in a complete failure. However, authorities say the investigation is still underway. In the meantime, they launched drones to discover the extent of the damage.
Unfortunately, nearby businesses and a local museum also received news that they had damage. Restaurants, a Lindt chocolate store, and the GDR Museum are all closed for the foreseeable future. Additionally, the organization that ran an elevator inside the aquarium will shut down.
Hotel guests posted shocking footage of the aftermath on social media. Dead fish and glass littered nearby roads. And the hotel lobby is nearly unrecognizable.
However, there are smaller aquariums underneath the lobby that did not sustain damage. Now that all hotel guests are safely evacuated, authorities have turned their attention to the remaining aquariums. There are 500 fish awaiting rescue.
Multiple local organizations have volunteered to take in the surviving fish. One of those is the Berlin Zoo. And it is the city’s mission to relocate the survivors as quickly as possible.
Meanwhile, the Radisson Blu released the unfortunate news that it would remain closed throughout the investigation and clean-up. Authorities are also concerned about the electrical system damaged in the flood. There is no word on when it may reopen.
