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Veterinarians and first responders scrambled to save as many tropical fish as they could after a massive aquarium burst in Berlin, sending a deluge of water into the street.
Despite their best efforts, nearly all of the 1,500 fish living inside the AquaDom tourist attraction died after the catastrophe — though hundreds of others inside separate aquariums were saved by the responders.
“It’s a great tragedy that for 1,500 fish there was no chance of survival,” said Almut Neumann, a city official in charge of environmental issues for Berlin’s Mitte district. “The focus in the afternoon was clearly on saving the fish in the remaining tanks.”
Roughly 264,000 gallons of water gushed out of the AquaDom around 5:45 a.m. Friday, causing major damage to the building, which includes the Radisson Blu hotel, cafes and a chocolate shop. Two people received minor injuries in the deluge, fire officials said.
Some of the fish struggling “at the bottom of the tank,” still had a chance for survival, the Berlin Mitte district government confirmed via Twitter. The tank housed 80 types of fish, including a blue tang and clownfish — colorful tropical fish made famous by Disney’s “Finding Nemo.”
As crews began cleaning up debris, officials teamed with veterinarians to rescue 400 to 500 smaller fish from separate aquariums beneath the hotel lobby, who were not receiving enough oxygen with the building’s electricity cut.
The fish were moved to other tanks at the nearby Sea Life aquarium.
