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Franziska Giffey at the scene of the accident in Berlin: "Incredible destruction"
Photo: MICHELE TANTUSSI / REUTERS
After the bursting of the large aquarium in Berlin with two injured, the Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey spoke of "luck in misfortune".
In a statement, she pointed out that there would probably have been fatalities at a later date.
Nevertheless, it was "sad for Berlin, for many people who come here with their families," she told SPIEGEL.
“This is incredible destruction.
It looks like after a tsunami.
If there had been people, we would have had to mourn umpteen deaths today," said the SPD politician.
"People wouldn't have had a chance."
The Aquadom held a million liters of water, which poured with great force into the atrium of the surrounding hotel.
According to the fire brigade, a large part of the water probably flowed through the doors on the ground floor onto the street and there into the gullies.
The approximately 1500 fish from the aquarium are all dead.
The cause of the accident is still unclear, but Berlin's Senator for the Interior, Iris Spranger, said that material fatigue could have been the cause.
bbr/tin/dpa