One of the world’s largest freestanding aquariums, home to 1,500 exotic fish, burst in Berlin on Friday, causing a wave of devastation around the attraction.
When it broke, glass, water and hundreds of tropical fish gushed out on to the street.
The tank contained about 80 species of fish and held about a million litres of water.
"It was a full-on tsunami," said Berlin mayor Franziska Giffey, adding that it was pure luck the incident had happened in the early morning when very few people were around.
"Despite the terrible destruction we're seeing, we're lucky people weren't seriously injured," she told reporters.
The 1,500 fish in the tank, however, "could not be saved", Ms Giffey added.
Sandra Weeser, a German politician who was staying at the hotel at the time of the incident, told Reuters the scene was "just chaos".
"The whole aquarium burst and what’s left is total devastation. Lots of dead fish, debris."
Among the fish it housed were blue tang and clownfish, the species known from the popular animated film Finding Nemo.
About 100 emergency responders were sent to the AquaDom complex, which houses a Radisson hotel, a museum, shops and restaurants, shortly before 6am.
"It felt like an earthquake" said Naz Masraff, who had been staying at the hotel.
Ms Weeser said she was woken up by "a kind of shockwave".
"There was a slight tremor of the building and my first guess was an earthquake," she told the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper.
The area where the aquarium once stood was now "dark and wet" she said, recalling how she saw "one of those large parrotfish lying on the ground, frozen".
“We have not yet been able to walk the first floor completely, which is probably where these fish will be,” fire service spokesman Adrian Wentzel said.
“But the thing is that the water has completely leaked out and the fish that were in this aquarium could not be saved either.”
Pictures and videos circulating online early on Friday, apparently from guests staying at the hotel, showed extensive damage to the aquarium with only the frame still standing. Debris was strewn all around.
The tank appeared to have drained completely.
Efforts were under way on Friday to save an additional 400 to 500 smaller fish housed in aquariums underneath the hotel lobby.
Without electricity, their tanks were not receiving the necessary oxygen for them to survive, officials said.
“Now it’s about evacuating them quickly,” Almut Neumann, a city official in charge of environmental issues for Berlin’s Mitte district, told German news agency dpa.
Various organisations, including the Berlin Zoo, offered to take in the surviving fish.
About 350 hotel guests were asked to pack their belongings and leave the building, the fire brigade representative said.
The incident resulted in serious damage and minor injuries, police said.
"In addition to the unbelievable maritime damage ... two people were injured by glass splinters," Berlin police said on Twitter.
Search-and-rescue dogs scoured the ground floor of the building, which was too littered with debris for responders to gain access, but found no casualties, the Berlin fire brigade said on Twitter.
The cylindrical AquaDom, located in the foyer of the hotel, was a popular tourist attraction in the German capital.
It was the world's largest freestanding cylindrical aquarium at 16m tall, according to the Sea Life website, and had a clear-walled lift built inside to be used by visitors to the Sea Life leisure complex.
There was speculation that freezing temperatures of down to minus 10ºC overnight had caused a crack in the tank, which then exploded under the weight of the water.
Police spokesman Martin Stralau said the cause of the incident was still being investigated.
Witness Gwendolin Szyszkowitz told German news channel n-tv that she heard a loud bang and initially feared that a bomb had exploded.
Emergency services shut a major road next to the complex that leads from Alexanderplatz towards Brandenburg Gate in Berlin due to the large volume of water, glass and other debris that flooded out of the building.
Police urged drivers to avoid the area because water was leaking from the aquarium.
The road and sidewalks outside the complex were littered with debris.
Buses were sent to the complex to provide shelter for hotel guests leaving the building, police said on Twitter, as the temperature in Berlin hovered around minus 10ºC.
The aquarium opened in 2004 and was last refurbished in 2020, according to the complex's website.
During the upgrading work, all the water was drained from the tank and the fish were moved to aquariums in the basement of the building, where there is a breeding care facility for the fish, it said.
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.
Sea Life’s own aquarium is in the same building and visitors can tour it and the AquaDom on a single ticket.
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Saturday's schedule at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
GP3 race, 12:30pm
Formula 1 final practice, 2pm
Formula 1 qualifying, 5pm
Formula 2 race, 6:40pm
Performance: Sam Smith
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
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Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
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4) Try not to close the sale at night
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
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Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
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Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
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Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
If you go
Flight connections to Ulaanbaatar are available through a variety of hubs, including Seoul and Beijing, with airlines including Mongolian Airlines and Korean Air. While some nationalities, such as Americans, don’t need a tourist visa for Mongolia, others, including UAE citizens, can obtain a visa on arrival, while others including UK citizens, need to obtain a visa in advance. Contact the Mongolian Embassy in the UAE for more information.
Nomadic Road offers expedition-style trips to Mongolia in January and August, and other destinations during most other months. Its nine-day August 2020 Mongolia trip will cost from $5,250 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, two nights’ hotel accommodation in Ulaanbaatar, vehicle rental, fuel, third party vehicle liability insurance, the services of a guide and support team, accommodation, food and entrance fees; nomadicroad.com
A fully guided three-day, two-night itinerary at Three Camel Lodge costs from $2,420 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, accommodation, meals and excursions including the Yol Valley and Flaming Cliffs. A return internal flight from Ulaanbaatar to Dalanzadgad costs $300 per person and the flight takes 90 minutes each way; threecamellodge.com
