AquaDom: Police search for answers after giant Berlin aquarium burst

On December 16, 2022, the giant aquarium, known as the AquaDom, burst. Over a million litres of water flowed through the Berlin Radisson Collection Hotel, where the world's largest cylindrical aquarium stood.

According to the German publicatio Focus, the blast triggered an alarm that led police to suspect a terrorist attack. Specialized forces in armoured vehicles were then sent to the accident scene.

Fortunately, since the accident happened around 6 am, only a few hotel guests were on the ground floor. Only two people were slightly injured by splinters from the meter-high glass cylinder in the explosion.

The explosion woke many hotel guests, but at first, they couldn't see what had happened and simply went back to bed. Most people only found out about the accident when the police arrived and the area affected was closed.

Unfortunately, only a few hundred of the 1500 fish survived. The surviving fish have been moved to the aquariums at Sea Life, which is not owned by the same company but is in the same building.

According to Focus, the animal welfare organization PETA Germany was very critical of this tragedy: "We will file criminal charges against those responsible because the lives of around 1,500 fish were apparently handled negligently here."

Union Investment, the company that owned the AquaDom, was initially shocked and surprised by the incident. According to their statements, the AquaDom was said to have been in perfect condition, and Union Investment claims to have given the aquarium the constant maintenance and servicing needed.

Focus reported that the aquarium was extensively modernized in the summer of 2020 but only reopened this year due to the pandemic. With a volume of about 1,000,000 litres of salt water (264,172 gallons), it was home to over 100 species of fish.

As for possible reasons for the accident, Union Investment said through its spokesman only that the cause is unknown to them and they will investigate the matter closely in cooperation with the fire brigade and police.

Aquarium experts are now speculating about the possible cause of the horrific accident. All speculation points to a material failure in the almost 20-year-old aquarium.

The American company Reynolds Polymer Technology, which manufactured AquaDom 's acrylic windows, will now send a team to Berlin to investigate the incident.

The architect of the world's largest cylindrical free-standing aquarium, Michael Jessing, said in a television interview in 2003, when the AquaDom was opened, that such an accident would not be possible.

The cylinder made of acrylic glass was 4 meters high (46 ft) and had an elevator running through the middle of it. The construction of this gigantic aquarium, which opened in December 2003, is said to have cost around 13 million euros (13.82 million USD) at the time.

In the meantime, the operators of Sea Life Berlin, the aquarium, which is located in the same building, but was not affected, have also spoken out. The fish that survived the accident were brought to safety thanks to the close proximity of Sea Life Berlin.

The company has also released an official statement to clarify any possible misunderstandings about the two companies working together: "We are aware of the unprecedented incident that has occurred at the AquaDom, very close to our SEA LIFE Aquarium. The AquaDom is an independent attraction and is not owned by SEA LIFE Berlin, and maintenance and repairs are not the responsibility of SEA LIFE Berlin".

They further explain on their web page: "Our SEA LIFE teams have offered support to the AquaDom teams as our priority is the safety and welfare of all people and animals involved. Our team is working hard to prepare all available habitats to accommodate the surviving fish as fast as possible and provide housing for AquaDom animals that need our help".

Nobody wants to accept responsibility for this accident, which put many people in danger and took the lives of many fish. It remains to be seen what the investigations by the police and fire department will reveal.