Veterinarians and rescue workers have been trying to save as many tropical fish as possible after a gigantic aquarium burst in Berlin.
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Despite their best efforts, nearly all of the 1,500 fish living inside the AquaDom tourist attraction died after the disaster. Hundreds more in separate aquariums were, however, rescued by responders.
“It is a great tragedy that for 1,500 fish there was no chance of survival,” said Almut Neumann, municipal official in charge of environmental issues for the district of Mitte in Berlin. “The objective of the afternoon was clearly to save the fish in the remaining tanks”.
Around 5:45 a.m. Friday, an estimated 264,000 gallons of water gushed out of the AquaDom, causing extensive damage to the building, which includes the Radisson Blu hotel, cafes and a chocolate factory. Two people were slightly injured in the deluge, firefighters said.
Some of the struggling fish “at the bottom of the aquarium” still had a chance of surviving, the district government of Berlin Mitte confirmed on Twitter. The aquarium housed 80 species of fish, including a blue tang and a clownfish.
As crews began cleaning up the debris, officials teamed up with veterinarians to rescue 400 to 500 small fish from separate tanks under the hotel lobby, which weren’t getting enough oxygen with the shutdown. building electricity.
The fish were transferred to other aquariums in the Sea Life Aquarium.
Several organizations, including the Berlin Zoo, have offered to collect the surviving fish.
– With information from the “New York Post”