"Giant shock in Berlin: The mega-aquarium in Dom Aquaree has apparently exploded!"
wrote the German tabloid Bild.
- The whole bed shook, says an elderly hotel guest, reports Tagesspiegel.
Holds 1.5 million liters of water
The aquarium was 15 meters high and has been enthroned in the middle of the former SAS hotel Radisson in the middle of the German capital.
The water cylinder held approximately 1.5 million liters of water and contained thousands of fish of over fifty different tropical species, according to the Guinness Book of Records.
Since its construction 20 years ago, the aquarium was part of the Sea Life underwater complex, which is a major tourist attraction.
Few fish survived
Several people are said to have been injured by shards of glass.
Few, if any, of the fishermen seem to have survived the chilly Berlin morning.
- Those who might have been saved froze to death, says hotel guest Sandra Weeser according to Tagesspiegel.
According to Bild's sources, material fatigue is suspected to have caused the accident.
The outer shell of the aquarium was made of four giant pieces of acrylic.
See what the aquarium looked like before and after the explosion in the clip above.