A huge aquarium in Berlin exploded on Friday morning causing a million litres of water to flood a hotel and burst out onto the street, police said.
The 16-metre (52-foot) high aquarium burst in downtown Berlin, injuring two people and killing 1,500 fish, German rescue services said on Friday.
The attraction, called the Aquadom, was the world's biggest freestanding cylindrical tank.
More than 100 first responders had been called in to deal with the damage at the complex which houses the Radisson Blu hotel in the German capital's Mitte district.
"All 400 guests who were staying at the Radisson hotel have been evacuated," DW correspondent Anna Saraste tweeted on Friday morning.
Among the 80 types of fish it housed were blue tang and clownfish, two colourful species known from the popular animated movie “Finding Nemo.”
Efforts were underway Friday afternoon to save an additional 400 to 500 smaller fish housed in aquariums underneath the hotel lobby.
Officials have said without electricity, their tanks were not receiving the necessary oxygen for them to survive.
Various organisations, including the Berlin Zoo, offered to take in the surviving fish.
Aquarium operator Sea Life said it was saddened by the incident and was trying to get more information about the incident from the owners of the AquaDom.
The cause of the incident was still unclear.
The Berlin Fire Brigade wrote on Twitter: "The aquarium is damaged, water is leaking. The situation is not clear at the moment."
"In addition to the unbelievable maritime damage... two people were injured by glass splinter."
What do we know so far?
The 25-metre-high aquarium -- which contained 1,500 fish, all of whom died -- was housed at the Radisson Collection Hotel.
In a statement to Euronews, a spokeswoman for Radisson Hotel said: "This morning at approximately 6.30 am CET the aquarium of the Aquadom Berlin which is located in the Radisson Collection Hotel, Berlin collapsed.
Berlin's traffic agency VIZ said an extremely large volume of water had spilled onto the street outside while Berlin police said "massive amounts of water" have flowed onto the street."
Emergency services provided warm spaces for the guests as temperatures in the German capital on Friday morning were around -7C (19.4F).
Police refused to comment on what had caused the tank to burst, but there was local speculation that freezing temperatures had contributed to the incident, Sky News reported.
The aquarium was the centrepiece of the Radisson Blu hotel lobby and opened in 2003.
Guests have been moved out of the hotel.
Sandra Weeser, a German lawmaker who was staying in the hotel, said she was awoken up by a large bang and thought there might have been an earthquake.
“There are shards (of glass) everywhere. The furniture, everything has been flooded with water,” she said. “It looks a bit like a war zone.”
Police said a Lindt chocolate store and several restaurants in the same building complex, as well as an underground parking garage next to the hotel, sustained damage.
Animal rights group PETA tweeted Thursday that the aquarium became a “death trap” for the fish housed in it.
“This man-made tragedy shows that aquariums are not a safe place for fish and other marine life,” they wrote.
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