- It was a stroke of luck the accident happened before the morning rush hour.
If you’ve ever traveled to Berlin, you may have seen the famous AquaDom. Located in the DomAquarée complex, the huge aquarium — surrounded by a Radisson hotel, offices, restaurants, and Berlin Sea Life — houses hundreds of exotic fish.
Or at least it did.
The world’s largest free-standing aquarium is no more. And neither is pretty much anything in its immediate vicinity.
For reasons currently unknown, AquaDom burst on February 16. Hundreds of thousands of gallons of water rushed out of the enormous tank, into the lobby of the Radisson hotel, and finally onto freezing Berlin streets.
Unsurprisingly, the sudden salty flash flood demolished everything in its path. It also resulted in a huge death toll, at least for the aquarium’s residents — all the tank’s fish perished.
But by some miracle, human casualties were minimal. Only two people got injured in the accident.
‘It Felt Like an Earthquake’
Opened in 2003, the AquaDom was the largest free-standing aquarium in the world by volume. Measuring 36 feet in diameter and 52 feet in height, it contained roughly 260,000 gallons of saltwater to support 1,500 tropical fish of more than 100 species.
The aquarium was constructed from acrylic due to the material’s great transparency and strength. The inner portion of the AquaDom consisted of 15 huge panels, while the outside layer had 26 panels.
But it didn’t prove sturdy enough. Around 5:45 a.m. on December 16, the tank cracked.
And then it basically exploded.
The burst tank released all of the water contained within it into the lobby of the Radisson hotel in the DomAquarée complex, located in central Berlin. From the lobby, the tsunami rushed through the hotel’s doors and into the street.
“It felt like an earthquake,” Naz Masraff, a hotel guest told Reuters.
Mr. Masraff isn’t far off in his estimate. The power of the released water was so enormous that local seismographs picked up the shock wave.
The water washed practically everything out of the hotel lobby into the street. It also caused damage outside, ripping off doors and shattering windows.
The police called the damage from the accident “incredible.” Witnesses described the scene as something that could’ve been left behind by an actual tsunami.
‘Lots of Dead Fish’
Outside of the immediate material damage, the accident proved devastating for the tank’s fishy residents. None of them are excepted to survive.
After the water had flowed away, people reported seeing masses of dead fish laying on the street. Some, however, had survived the initial incident by ending up in small pools formed by the passing waters.
Their salvation was short-lived, though. In the early hours of the morning, the temperatures on Berlin streets sat at 21 degrees Fahrenheit.
Needless to say, that’s too low for tropical fish.
Sandra Weeser, a member of the German federal parliament who was staying at the hotel during the incident, saw “a large parrotfish lying on the ground, frozen.”
“The whole aquarium burst and what’s left is total devastation. Lots of dead fish, debris,” she said.
Human casualties, however, were miraculously low. Only two people — including one Radisson employee — were injured by splintered glass, but there were no fatalities.
That is partially due to the fortunate timing of the accident. The streets surrounding the AquaDom were mercifully empty when the tank exploded.
“If this hadn’t happened at 5:45 a.m., but even just one hour later, then we would probably have had a terrible human loss to report,” said Berlin mayor Franziska Giffey.
And she’s right. Just imagine if the water had hit a crowded rush-hour street.
Is Acrylic to Blame?
Authorities have ruled out any foul play in the incident. According to the police, they have no reason to suspect someone intentionally broke the tank.
That said, the authorities have no idea why it happened. As we said, acrylic is ideal for large aquariums due to its strength, low cost, and high transparency.
But it’s not a foolproof material. One theory circulating in German media is that the low temperatures at the time of the accident may have made the tank brittle, causing a small crack that allowed the waters to rush out.
Indeed, that’s what happened in 2010 when the world’s largest (by size) aquarium in Dubai sprung a leak. The tank’s acrylic surface cracked, but fortunately, it was fixed before any large-scale damage could occur.
Another reason could be poor bonding between the acrylic panels forming the tank. In 2012, a large acrylic aquarium in Shanghai failed catastrophically due to a weak bond seam, injuring 15 people and killing several sharks and turtles.
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