NAfter the large aquarium burst, the Berlin fire brigade said it began rescuing fish that were in containers in the basement of the affected building. These will be taken to the neighboring Sealife underwater world, fire department spokesman James Klein said early Friday afternoon. “They have the capacity,” he said. That has been determined in the meantime.
“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.
The underwater world Sealife with further aquariums is located a bit away from the hotel in the same building complex. This plant was initially not affected, it said. 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.
Aquadome owner ‘dismayed’
The company that owns the Aquadom was “dismayed by the accident”. The reason for the bursting of the huge cylinder full of water is still “completely unclear,” said Union Investment spokesman Fabian Hellbusch on Friday. “We are currently trying to get a more accurate picture of the situation and the damage caused in coordination with the police and fire brigade on site.” You also have to speak of “luck in misfortune” when you consider what could have happened.
Caregivers are on site to take care of the affected tenants and offer support to the injured hotel employee. “We very much regret that a large proportion of the fish kept in the Aquadom in a species- and animal-friendly manner died as a result of the severe destruction of the acrylic cylinder and the leakage of the water,” it said in a statement.
In 2019 and 2020 there was construction work and a general overhaul of the Aquadom. After a corona break, the aquarium was reopened in 2022. The spokesman said nothing could be said about the extent of the damage. The construction is said to have cost almost 13 million euros almost 20 years ago according to communications and reports at the time.
GDR museum damaged by masses of water
The masses of water that were released when the aquarium burst 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.
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.
The whole thing happened before the opening, said von Godin of the German Press Agency. They would then have carried out an inspection with the Technical Relief Agency (THW) and the fire brigade. “We’ll probably be closed for six to 12 weeks,” von Godin said. Nothing can be said about the damage.