Burst giant aquarium in Berlin: Expert names possible "weak point" - Some fish saved
Created: 12/17/2022, 4:55 am
By: Patrick Huljina, Jennifer Lanzinger
The famous giant aquarium DomAquarée in Berlin has exploded.
A video shows the remains.
The fire department speaks of a confusing situation.
Burst
giant aquarium
in
Berlin
: Expert names possible "weak point".
"Real tsunami": Berlin's mayor
Giffey
speaks of "luck in disguise".
Rescue of
fish
started: Berlin
fire brigade
accommodates surviving animals in Sea Life.
This
news ticker about the incident at the aquarium in Berlin is constantly updated.
Update from December 16, 10:31 p.m .:
Around a million liters of water rushed into the hotel basement and the Berlin sewage system when the aquarium burst.
Some of it is apparently still in the building.
The Federal Agency for Technical Relief expects the pumping work to continue into the night.
THW consultant Friedrich Engel said that helpers were pumping the underground car park empty in the early evening.
The inside of the building resembles a rubble field.
Firefighters can save dozens of fish from aquarium
Update from December 16, 7:55 p.m .:
Of around 1,500 fish in the destroyed large aquarium at the Berlin Cathedral, special forces from the fire brigade were able to save a few dozen that were in the lower area of the vessel.
"I think it was about three vats in number," spokesman James Klein said.
The saltwater fish are to be taken to the neighboring Sea Life underwater world, and the freshwater fish to the zoo's aquariums.
In addition, all fish from the basement could be rescued.
There are twelve aquariums with 400 to 500 small saltwater fish.
All of them also found a new home in Sea Life.
Update from December 16, 5:46 p.m .:
While after the bursting of the aquarium, structural engineers from the Technical Relief Agency and the Mitte district office check whether the DomAquarée is in danger of collapsing, a message from the website
erdbebennews.de
explains the power of the explosion.
The tremor was so violent that seismic waves were triggered like in an earthquake, it is said.
There were rashes at two private stations: in Rudow and Lankwitz, which are eight and 14 kilometers away from the scene of the accident.
The strongest vibrations corresponded to a magnitude 1.2 earthquake.
The operator of the platform, geophysicist Jens Skapski, explained that the tremors are the result when "a million liters of water hit the ground from a great height." He shared a screenshot of the seismogram on Twitter.
Update from December 16, 4:55 p.m .:
The masses of water that were released when the Aquadom burst in Berlin also affected the DDR Museum.
The museum is below the building complex on the banks of the Spree.
"A million liters of salt water have made their way, also to us in the exhibition," said museum director Gordon Freiherr von Godin on Friday.
Several rooms are affected, including exhibits and furniture.
The exhibition area is about 1200 square meters, according to his estimate about 300 to 400 square meters are affected by the water damage.
Nobody got hurt.
Burst giant aquarium in Berlin: Expert names possible "weak point"
Update from December 16, 2022, 3:30 p.m.:
The aquarium manufacturer Florian Schuran considers a material failure to be the cause of the bursting of the giant Berlin aquarium to be quite possible.
"I think the cymbal is 18 years old now, consists of several glued seams and these are always the weak points that can fail in this case," said the managing director of the New Wave company from Wassenberg (North Rhine-Westphalia).
Schuran's company did not build the 16-meter-high Aquadom that burst in a Berlin hotel on Friday.
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The expert cannot imagine the cylindrical pool being sabotage: “Such pools are statically calculated.
If life and limb are in danger in such cases, extreme safety is ensured.” According to the company that owns the destroyed Aquadome, the reason for the bursting of the huge cylinder on Friday was still completely unclear.
Rescue of fish started: Berlin fire brigade accommodates surviving animals in Sea Life
Update from December 16, 2022, 3:15 p.m .:
After the Aquadom burst, the Berlin fire brigade said it began rescuing fish that were in vessels in the basement of the affected building.
These are brought to the neighboring underwater world Sea Life, said fire department spokesman James Klein early Friday afternoon.
"They have the capacity," he said.
"We're really lucky that we don't have to drive a car with a container," said Klein.
A few fish were also found alive in the lower area of the burst large aquarium with around 1,500 animals.
Berlin-Mitte City Councilor for the Environment, Almut Neumann, had previously reported that there were several aquariums with around 400 to 500 smaller fish in the basement of the hotel building.
She had described their situation as critical because the vessels were not supplied with electricity.
After the destruction of the Aquadom: Berlin Zoo offers to take in fish
Update from December 16, 2022, 2:35 p.m .:
After the destruction of the giant Aquadom aquarium, the Berlin Zoo offered to house fish that were still alive.
"We have already offered the responsible supervisory authority to take in and supply fish if necessary and depending on capacity," said a spokeswoman on Friday.
The zoo deeply regrets the accident.
The underwater world Sea Life, with other aquariums, is not directly affected by the destruction of the Aquadome.
Sea Life said it was "dismayed" by the incident.
The company is currently trying to get more information from the owners of the Aquadome, Sea Life announced on Friday afternoon.
Sea Life called for refraining from speculation "until the background to the accident has been clarified".
According to Sea Life, the Aquadom does not belong to the company.
The exact ownership structure initially remained unclear.
Sea Life operates a large aquarium in the affected hotel building.
A visit to the now destroyed Aquadom could also be booked via the Sea Life website.
"Real tsunami": Berlin's mayor Giffey speaks of "luck in misfortune"
Update from December 16, 2022, 2 p.m.:
Berlin’s governing mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) spoke of immense destruction after the aquarium accident.
"It's a veritable tsunami that has swept through the hotel space, the adjacent restaurants," Giffey said.
There was great damage.
But Berlin was very lucky, Giffey emphasized: "If the whole thing had happened just an hour later, then we would have to report terrible human damage," she said, speaking of "luck in misfortune".
Berlin's Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey visited the accident site of the bursting Aquadom.
© IMAGO/Frederic Kern
This was also confirmed by James Klein, a spokesman for the Berlin fire department.
"The glass cylinder reached under the roof of the building," he told
Focus Online
.
"Apart from the amount of water, people could have been killed by the heavy, 20-centimetre-thick glass splinters." A total of 30 people who were near the aquarium at the time of the accident were medically examined, said Klein.
In the end, only two people had to be taken to hospital with minor injuries.
Burst aquarium in Berlin: background and information about the Aquadom
Update from December 16, 2022, 1:10 p.m .:
"It's not a small crack from which the water comes out, but the entire aquarium suddenly burst," said a spokesman for the fire brigade.
Guests of the hotel in Berlin-Mitte unanimously reported an explosion-like bang.
Update from December 16, 2022, 1:05 p.m .:
Because of the death of hundreds of fish as a result of the explosion that occurred on Friday (December 16) in the Hotel Aquaree in Berlin, the animal welfare organization PETA has now announced legal action.
Update from December 16, 2022, 1 p.m.:
The Aquadom burst in Berlin.
We have summarized all information about the giant aquarium in the capital for you.
Berlin: burst aquarium – Sea Life apparently not directly affected
Update from December 16, 2022, 11:28 a.m .:
Part of the attraction, the underwater world of Sea Life with other aquariums, is not directly affected by the destruction of the Berlin Aquadom.
A spokesman for the fire brigade said that some aquariums and pools at Sea Life, which are located a little further away in the same building complex, are now being checked for possible damage.
The so-called Aquadom was an aquarium in the form of a huge glass cylinder with 1500 fish and an elevator in the middle.
He was standing within the atrium of the hotel that is part of the complex.
The cylinder burst early Friday morning.
"The ground floor is completely in ruins," said a fire department spokesman about the hotel area there.
All fish are dead and must be disposed of with the debris.
Civil engineers and the Technical Relief Agency (THW) would now check whether the building should remain closed.
After that, the first clean-up work could begin.
Sea Life consists of various aquariums and tanks with fish on the ground floor on the other side of the building.
A tunnel allows visitors to walk through a large aquarium with sharks and rays.
At the end of the tour you finally reached the Aquadom, which is now destroyed.
Berlin: Aquarium in the hotel lobby burst – almost 300 guests have now left the hotel
Update from December 16, 2022, 10.30 a.m .:
The hotel at the destroyed large aquarium has been completely cleared.
Almost 300 guests and hotel employees were evacuated, according to the police.
According to the police, the giant aquarium had burst early in the morning.
Parts of the surrounding hotel were destroyed.
Update from December 16, 2022, 10:03 a.m .:
According to the police, there is no evidence of a targeted, violent attack on the large aquarium in Berlin.
"Not at all at the moment," a police spokesman said on Friday morning when asked.
The cause is not yet known, spokesmen for the police and fire brigade emphasized.
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.
The fire brigade is preparing to use rescue dogs at the destroyed large Berlin aquarium.
The fire department tweeted this on Friday.
So far she speaks of two injured people and 35 people who were "spotted by the rescue service".
That means the helpers checked whether they were injured.
Update from December 16, 2022, 10 a.m.:
Two people were injured when the large aquarium in Sea Life near Berlin Cathedral burst.
That said a spokesman for the Berlin fire department on Friday morning.
The injured were taken to a hospital.
It was initially not known whether they were employees of the hotel in which the aquarium was located or whether they were hotel guests.
According to the police, the giant aquarium burst early in the morning.
The fire brigade received an alarm from an automatic fire alarm in the hotel at 5:43 a.m.
The police spoke of a very loud noise or a bang that could be heard.
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.
Damage to the aquarium in Berlin: guests have to leave the hotel
Update from December 16, 2022, 8.30 a.m .:
Due to the severe damage to the large Berlin aquarium, the guests of the surrounding hotel also have to leave the building.
That said a spokesman for the Berlin fire department on Friday morning.
Around 350 people were still in the hotel.
According to the operators on the Internet, the Aquadom large aquarium at Sea Life in Berlin 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.
The famous aquarium in Berlin has burst.
© Danita Delimont / Imago / Screenshot Twitter
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.
The place is very close to the Alexanderplatz in Berlin with the TV Tower.
Aquarium in Berlin burst: photos show the extent of the destruction
Update from December 16, 2022, 7.55 a.m .:
As the news channel Welt reports on site, there are now not only 100 firefighters on site, but also around 100 police officers.
One person is said to have been injured in the explosion of the aquarium, and according to the current status there are no other injuries.
As pictures on Twitter, allegedly published by hotel guests, show, the aquarium burst in the morning with extreme pressure.
Pictures show a landscape of rubble in the hotel lobby, which has been pushed out onto the streets.
Water is still flowing onto the street in front of the complex.
Debris lies on the street in front of the hotel where the aquarium is located.
© Christoph Soeder/dpa
A police spokesman has now confirmed that the large aquarium at Sea Life near the Berlin Cathedral has burst.
At 5:45 a.m. there was a very loud noise.
Parts of the facade of the hotel in which the aquarium was located flew onto the street.
Original article:
Berlin - The huge aquarium in the Berlin DomAquarée usually attracts numerous tourists, now the impressive mega-aquarium seems to have burst.
A video of a suspected hotel guest on the Twitter platform shows the destroyed remains in the hotel hall.
Accordingly, the aquarium exploded in the middle of the night.
Giant aquarium in the Berlin hotel explodes: first suspicion of the cause - numerous emergency services on site
The news channel Welt, based in Berlin, also reports on the incident.
Accordingly, a defect is currently assumed, but more details are currently not known.
Accordingly, reinforcements have been requested, and other emergency services should soon arrive at the scene of the accident.
According to
Welt
information, one person is slightly injured, television pictures show debris even on the street in front of the hotel.
Photos published on Twitter by hotel guests show massive destruction in the hotel lobby.
Over 100 emergency services on site in Berlin - Huge aquarium in hotel lobby burst
There are currently numerous emergency services on site, according to the fire department around 100. Nothing is currently known about the cause, and there is also no reliable information about injuries.
A spokesman for the fire brigade told the dpa that it would be checked whether people were injured.
The aquarium had burst for an initially unknown reason.
Water ran onto Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse.
It must also be checked whether the underground car park is affected.
As
picture
reports, the emergency call was received around 6 a.m. in the morning.
In the building complex called DomAquarée there is, among other things, the large aquarium Sea Life and the so-called AquaDom.
As stated on the DomAquarée website, the AquaDom is the "largest free-standing cylindrical aquarium in the world" and was extensively modernized by summer 2020.
The Berlin fire brigade explains on Twitter that around 100 emergency services are on duty at the Hotel Dom Aquaree.
According to this, water is leaking out and the aquarium is “damaged”.
Accordingly, the situation is currently not clear.
The Berlin traffic information center tweeted that Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse, where the hotel with the aquarium is located, was closed.
“There is a lot of water on the road.
So far, the cause is still unclear.” The location is very close to Berlin's Alexanderplatz with the television tower.
