The Associated Press published a Friday report on one of those odd news stories that sometimes happens. It was about an aquarium, a tourist attraction in Berlin, Germany. Unfortunately, it exploded.
BERLIN (AP), — A large aquarium in Berlin burst early Friday morning, spilling water, debris, and hundreds of tropical fish from the AquaDom tourist attraction.
Police stated that parts of the building also housing a cafe, a hotel, and a chocolate shop were damaged by 1 million liters (2264,000 gallons), of water that was poured from an aquarium just before 6 a.m. (0500 GMT).
Union Investment Real Estate, the company that owns AquaDom, stated Friday afternoon in a statement that the circumstances surrounding the incident are “still unclear.”
The report included more information about the massive structure of the marine display.
AquaDom’s website described it as being the largest cylindrical tank in the world, standing at 25 meters high (82 feet high). Union Investment Real Estate clarified Friday however that the tank portion of AquaDom was 14 meters tall (46 feet).
Unfortunately, almost all of the 15,000 sea animals housed in the aquarium died.
The Berlin Mitte district government confirmed via Twitter that nearly all 1,500 fish inside the ruptured tank died. However, it did add “a few fish at bottom of the tank” to help save them.
The investigation continues. However, it is believed that “freezing temperatures” might be the culprit.
It was speculated that freezing temperatures of minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight caused the tank to crack and then explode under the pressure of the water. The incident was not attributed to an attack, according to police.
AP updated to say that there were only two minor injuries. This is extremely fortunate considering the popularity of the aquarium.
Berlin’s fire department reported that two people had been slightly injured. They said that rescue dogs searched the building looking for any trapped persons under debris.
Berlin’s most popular tourist attraction is the aquarium. It was last updated in 2020. One of the highlights of the attraction was the 10-minute elevator ride through its tropical tank.
Franziska Giffey, Berlin’s mayor, also noted that the incident could have been worse.
She said that despite all the destruction, she was still extremely lucky. She stated that “we would have suffered terrible human injury” if the aquarium had burst an hour later. However, people still remained awake in the hotel and surrounding areas.
People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals, (PETA), felt the need to comment on the aquarium’s explosion. They took to social media to threaten legal action on the captive fishies, calling it a “death trap”.
The group stated that “Aquariums are not safe places for fish and other marine life” in a statement.
Nearly 1,500 fish dead after huge Berlin aquarium bursts, PETA slams ‘death trap’ https://t.co/mVnNXWhqlS pic.twitter.com/bAwruRoaoH
— 1010 WINS (@1010WINS) December 16, 2022
This is not the best example of Left-leaning priorities.
