Things to know about the explosion of the world's largest cylindrical aquarium in Germany

In Berlin, a giant aquarium called the AquaDom exploded, spilling thousands of fish and nearly a million liters of water into the streets. So why did the aquarium explode? And was there significant property damage?

How big is the AquaDom aquarium?

The Radisson Blu Hotel in Berlin, Germany is home to the AquaDom Aquarium. The AquaDom Aquarium is known as the world's largest cylindrical aquarium , with a height of 15 meters, a volume of about 1 million liters and surrounded by a glass elevator system for visitors.

The Aquadom was built within the hotel in 2003 and is where guests can see a variety of colorful fish up close. The aquarium houses over 1,500 creatures from 37 freshwater and saltwater pools. In addition to the aquarium, the complex also includes shops, restaurants, museums and apartments.

AquaDom Aquarium - the world's largest cylindrical aquarium (2015).

No longer holds the title of world's largest cylindrical aquarium

On December 16, 2022, the AquaDom suddenly exploded at 5:45 a.m. local time. After the explosion, the entrance to the five-star hotel resembled the scene of a bomb explosion. Debris was strewn everywhere, furniture was torn apart, pillars and windows were bent, and countless other objects were scattered on the street.

A video taken by Sandra Weeser, a member of the federal parliament who was staying at the hotel, showed the devastation caused by the explosion. In an interview on local television, Weeser said she initially thought there had been a small earthquake, until she saw waves of water rushing around her and realized the aquarium had exploded. She was escorted out of the building by firefighters an hour later.

The scene of devastation before and after the explosion.

Why did the aquarium explode?

The incident remains under investigation. Berlin's fire service has not yet announced a cause, and local news outlets say police have found no evidence of an attack. Suspicion has been raised about the weather as well as a mechanical failure, with some speculating that the freezing temperatures outside cracked the AquaDom's glass.

The owner of the Aquadom aquarium and hotel representatives are working with the police and fire department to investigate the situation and damage, thereby finding the exact cause of the explosion.

How bad was the damage?

Hours after the explosion, entire blocks outside the building were still flooded. The force of the water was estimated to be comparable to a tsunami, as it uprooted trees and damaged entire neighborhoods.

View outside the hotel.

Nearly 1,500 tropical fish living in the Aquadom aquarium have died. Their carcasses were left on the street outside the Radisson Hotel in freezing temperatures of -7°C. 'This is a tragedy for the fish,' said Markus Kamrad, an official in the German Senate responsible for animal protection .

In addition to being affected by the water pressure when the aquarium burst, some fish died from the cold outside temperature, or suffocated because they were not put into the water in time. Any creature that survived the explosion would still be very difficult to save.

The Berlin fire department sent more than 100 firefighters to the scene, as well as a team of rescue dogs to search for human remains. Fortunately, only two people suffered minor injuries and were taken to hospital. If the incident had happened a few hours later, when there were more visitors, there could have been many more casualties.

Rescue efforts from rescue team

Firefighters blocked off the intersection outside the Radisson Hotel to assess the damage. The hotel immediately closed and began evacuating guests. Some guests remained outside the building, hoping to recover their belongings. One woman, who declined to be named, said she was shocked and could not believe that no one had died.

Early in the afternoon of the same day, a special rescue unit was present at the scene, equipped with hard hats, multi-purpose hooks and ropes to access the building's basement.

Local officials and firefighters realized that hundreds of other creatures were still in the basement of the building. Because of the power outage, fish in other tanks in the building were also in danger. Some reef fish at the bottom of the tank were lucky to survive in a pool of water. 'We had to pump out a large amount of water, check the entire building. Our primary goal right now is to rescue the fish living in the basement,' said James Klein, a spokesman for the Berlin Fire Department.

Mr Kamrad said the surviving fish would be transferred to the nearby Sea Life aquarium. Veterinary clinics were also preparing additional tanks in case the number of rescued fish increased. 'The good news is that we were able to save many rare species, including some snails, tilapia and some cichlids,' he said .