One day after a large aquarium burst, there is not much to see of the great chaos in front of the Berlin hotel. Workers in white protective suits load rubble into large construction containers and remove tubs and nets on Saturday. A large white construction fence stands in front of the building.
Fabian Hellbusch, spokesman for the building owner Union Investment, announced on Saturday that the focus was still on the “intensive clean-up work” outside and on security measures for the destroyed and damaged shops and open facades.
But behind the walls, the chaos after the accident on Friday should still be clearly visible. In the early morning, the 16 meter high aquarium “AquaDom” with 1500 fish burst in the hotel. A loud bang – then a million liters of water poured out of the destroyed glass cylinder into the hotel and onto the street, among other things. Two people, according to the hotel an employee and a guest, were slightly injured. According to Hellbusch, at least six other shops were damaged in the building complex.
For people it was a near-miss on Friday morning – if the aquarium had burst at a later time in a busy hotel, security forces and politicians believe it could have been worse. But it was also devastating for the animals: Almost all the fish in the aquarium are dead.
However, some were lucky. According to the fire brigade, some water collected in the ring, which was actually supposed to stabilize the aquarium. “Three big buckets full” of live fish were rescued from this area, says a fire department spokesman. Live fish were also repeatedly found in puddles under debris on Friday. They were housed in Sealife and the Berlin Zoo.
However, the search for the cause continues. “There is still a lack of clarity as to the reasons for the sudden rupture of the acrylic glass cylinder,” said Hellbusch. According to the police, there was no evidence of a targeted, violent attack. “At the moment there is nothing to indicate that there is anything criminally relevant in the room,” said a police spokeswoman on Saturday.
According to Hellbusch, experts should take a closer look at the areas from Monday to assess the damage. The building was handed over to the owner on Friday evening. “It’s not in danger of collapsing,” says the spokesman. Structural investigations continue to take place.
The US company Reynolds Polymer Technology, which was involved in the construction of the burst aquarium, also wants to send a team to Berlin to investigate the incident.
According to the company from the USA, it manufactured and installed a “cylinder component” of the tank in 2002. The company writes on its website that it manufactured the acrylic window for the “AquaDom”.
The guests of the hotel were taken to another hotel on Friday, says Hellbusch on Saturday morning. They are in close contact – how things will continue is still open. “Understandably, there is no timetable for the reopening of the hotel yet,” it says. The priority is to record the extent of the damage and to ensure safety during the clean-up work. The fate of the “AquaDom” is also unclear. “It is not yet possible to say whether the ‘AquaDom’ will be rebuilt or whether an alternative use is possible.”
