A hotel guest has described the terrifying moment a fish tank burst open inside the lobby at a hotel in Germany he was staying in.
On Friday (16 December), a giant aquarium containing a million litres of water burst in the lobby of the Radisson Blu hotel in Berlin. You can watch shocking footage of the aftermath below:
It is believed the freezing temperatures led to the incident, but police are still investigating what caused it.
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Two people were left injured as a result of the falling glass after the blast, with the water also flooding nearby streets.
The massive aquarium was home to 1,500 fish, with the vast majority of them dead, according to Berlin's fire brigade, who spoke to the BBC.
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However, a later statement to local media from fire brigade official James Klein said that 'several' dozen fish had been found alive in some places.
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The tank - known as the AquaDom - was 15.85m (52ft) high and was described as the largest free-standing cylindrical aquarium on the planet.
One witness who saw the incident firsthand was 28-year-old Aleksei Garanzha, from Lisbon, Portugal.
He described the incident as the 'scariest moment of my life' as he was woken up to what sounded like an explosion.
He told Metro.co.uk: "At first I thought it was an aeroplane flying very low towards the building as when I woke up initially I could hear a quiet rumble and then there was this huge explosion and I just imagined a plane had hit us.
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"I was absolutely petrified, especially as I was on vacation by myself."
Aleksei told Metro that once he saw the lobby was filling up with water, he had to make a run for it and get out immediately.
He said: "I couldn’t believe this was happening. I had only just flown to Berlin for the first time, and had chosen to stay at the hotel because I absolutely love the Radisson collection.
"It’s such a great hotel brand and of course I had been excited to see the fish tank.
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"I felt as though my room was shaking and I just had to get out of the building.
"I looked outside of my room and saw that the aquarium had been destroyed.
"All I could see was glass absolutely everywhere.
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"I didn’t see any fish, all I could see looking down was a lobby full of smashed glass, people looking on in shock and emergency vehicles outside. It was a total disaster."
Aleksei also recalled how his mum got in contact with him as she was shocked to discover the news.
He continued: "I was frightened and my mum worries about me. I’m not surprised as there was so much water leaking everywhere, broken furniture lying all over the place and shards of glass sticking out.
"I am just so relieved nobody has been seriously hurt. I mean, there is a lift that rides through the tank. That could have had people in it which would have been horrific."
Topics: News
Callum Jones