More than a month after a huge aquarium shattered in the foyer of one of Berlin’s biggest hotels the damage was so bad that it remains still closed.
Speaking to media spokesman for the Radisson Blu hotel in Berlin near the Alexanderplatz said: “The damage caused by the accident was substantial.”
Broken glass, twisted metal and dying fish were all swept away into the street in the flood caused by 264,000 gallons of saltwater from the aquarium.
The 25-metre-high (82-foot) AquaDom aquarium in the Radisson Blu Hotel was completely destroyed when the glass unexpectedly shattered.
The spokesman insisted that the hotel will eventually be reopened, but added: “We cannot yet say when that would be the case”.
The accident happened when an Aquadom containing 1500 fish burst, injuring two people, one employee and two guests who did not suffer serious injuries.
It still remains unclear why the tank burst in the accident at the four-star hotel on 16th December, and the cleanup work is still continuing not just in the hotel but also in the surrounding shops are also affected by the mass of water.
In the local museum of East German history for example, some ceilings and walls need to be removed and it has also been closed since the accident.
Although the water did not enter directly into the museum, it left the walls soaked and the ceiling started to collapse.
The huge tank – the world’s largest free-standing cylindrical aquarium – disintegrated without warning in the early hours of the morning.
Police officers rushed to the site with submachine guns as they initially suspected a terrorist attack.
Most of the fish perished in the blast but around 200 were saved and were taken to the Berlin Zoo.
And now zoo officials have revealed that most of them have recovered and only nine of the rescued fish later died.
A Berlin Zoo spokeswoman said on 9th January: “Everyone else has recovered well.”
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Story By: Georgina Jedikovska, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Central European News
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