A whopping 1,500 fish are dead and at least two people were slightly injured after Berlin’s AquaDom aquarium burst Friday, turning a prime tourist attraction that was home to dozens of types of fish into a site of mayhem.
The incident is thought to have been caused by a crack in the 82-foot tall glass tank after a severe decrease in temperature overnight saw the tank temperature plummet to 14 degrees Fahrenheit.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/4QHEDD3LBZG27KT3SC3TMM35SU.jpg)
Foul play is not currently suspected, according to authorities, with fire officials telling DW News the tank “burst abruptly.”
The ordeal saw an estimated 300 guests and staffers evacuated from a hotel also located in the building that housed the aquarium.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/X22QLNI6N5BQ3OPK3N3B3P23MQ.jpg)
A “veritable tsunami” of water resulted from the incident, according to Mayor Franziska Giffey, who still counted the city as “very lucky,” given what could have happened.
“We would have had terrible human damage” if the burst had occurred a mere hour later, she said. “Unfortunately, none of the 1,500 fish could be saved.”
The 1,500 dead fish spilled onto the road in the aftermath, according to Reuters.
As of Friday afternoon, officials were still working as quickly as possible to rescue hundreds of smaller fish beneath the hotel lobby.
“This man-made tragedy shows that aquariums are not a safe place for fish and other marine life,” tweeted PETA, slamming the aquarium as a “death trap.”
With News Wire Services