Aquadome burst
“Temporarily closed” – this is how Sea Life reacted to the accident
The large aquarium at Sea Life near the Berlin Cathedral with 1000 cubic meters of water and 1500 fish has burst. Parts of the surrounding hotel were destroyed on Friday morning. According to the police, there were initially no indications of a targeted, violent attack. According to police, two people were injured and taken to the hospital. The police spoke of a very loud noise or a bang that could be heard. Original sound from the police: “Around 5:50 a.m. we were told that an incident was said to have occurred here on Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse in Mitte. A water tank presumably burst and massive amounts of water escaped from it. And then what caused damage to the building.” According to the fire brigade, a large part of the water probably ran through the doors on the ground floor onto the street and there into the gullies. Not much water was found in the basements. The destroyed ground floor was searched for people with rescue dogs. Because of the severe damage, the guests of the surrounding hotel also had to leave the building, as a spokesman for the fire brigade said. Around 350 people were still in the hotel. About 1500 fish from over 100 different species lived in the tank. The aquarium was filled with a million liters of salt water.
The bursting of the Aquadom in Berlin also took the operator Sea Life completely by surprise. The only thing on the homepage is a banner that the tourist attraction is “temporarily closed”.
Probably no one thought of starting their planned visit to the Aquadom in Berlin today anyway. But to be on the safe side, the operator of the huge aquarium writes on its website that the facility will remain closed for the time being. “Due to the currently reported incident in connection with the AquaDom, the SEA LIFE Berlin is unfortunately temporarily closed. You can rebook your booked tickets here free of charge. We ask for your understanding and will announce as soon as we are open again.”
Two injured
Huge column aquarium burst in Berlin – impressions of the rubble field on Karl-Liebknecht-Straße
In view of the extent of the destruction, a reopening should not be conceivable any time soon. In the early morning, the large aquarium near the Berlin Cathedral burst with 1,000 cubic meters of water and 1,500 fish. Parts of the surrounding hotel were destroyed. According to the police, there were initially no indications of a targeted, violent attack. According to police, two people were injured and taken to the hospital.
Material fatigue apparently responsible for the bursting of the Aquadome
According to initial findings, the accident is probably due to material fatigue. “Of course, the investigation into the cause has not yet been completed, but the first signs point to material fatigue,” said Berlin’s Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD) of the German Press Agency.
The police spoke of a very loud noise or a bang that could be heard. The fire brigade received an alarm from an automatic fire alarm in the hotel at 5:43 a.m. Parts of the facade of the hotel in which the aquarium was located flew onto the street. Large amounts of water spilled out and onto the street. The police and fire brigade have been on duty since the morning, each with around 100 people.
Berlin’s governing mayor also reacted to the incident on Twitter. “Bad news from the burst aquarium at Berlin Cathedral,” wrote Giffey. “I would like to thank the emergency services for their commitment and I wish the injured a speedy recovery.”
According to the fire brigade, the giant tank with a million liters of water was destroyed very quickly. “If the aquarium is defective, it bursts suddenly,” said a spokesman for the fire brigade. “It’s not a small crack from which the water is leaking, but the entire aquarium suddenly burst.” All of the 1,500 or so fish that lived there are no longer in the water.
According to the operator on the Internet, the Aquadom in Sealife was the “largest, cylindrical, free-standing aquarium in the world”, an attraction in Berlin well-known to many tourists. It was an acrylic glass container 16 meters high and 11.5 meters in diameter. Visitors could ride through the interior of the aquarium in an elevator.
About 1,500 fish from over 100 different species lived in the tank. The aquarium was filled with a million liters of salt water. That would be 1000 cubic meters of water weighing 1000 tons. According to the information, the aquarium was extensively modernized by summer 2020.