Huge Berlin aquarium bursts, unleashing flood of devastation

A huge aquarium in Berlin burst, spilling debris, water and more than a thousand tropical fish out of the AquaDom tourist attraction.

Water poured from the aquarium shortly before 6 a.m. damaged parts of the building, which also contains a hotel, cafes and a chocolate store. The sun goes down at 0500GMT. Two people were injured, according to the fire service.

The reasons for the incident are still unclear according to the company that owns the AquaDom.

The Mayor said the incident had unleashed a "veritable tsunami" of water, but the early morning timing had prevented more injuries.

She said that they were still very lucky. Had the aquarium burst an hour later, there would have been a lot of damage.

The AquaDom was the largest cylindrical tank in the world and held more than a thousand tropical fish. There were 80 different types of fish it housed, two of which were from the movie "Finding Nemo".

The 1,500 fish couldn't be saved.

There are aquariums underneath the hotel lobby that hold up to 500 small fish. Without electricity, their tanks weren't getting the oxygen they needed to live.

Almut Neumann, a city official in charge of environmental issues for Berlin's Mitte district, said that it was important to evacuate them quickly.

The Berlin Zoo offered to take in the fish that are still alive.

Sea Life was trying to get more information about the incident from the AquaDom's owners.

Visitors can tour Sea Life's aquarium and AquaDom on a single ticket.

There was no evidence of a malicious act, according to police.

The hotel had to be evacuated because of the aquarium.

A lawmaker from Germany, who was staying in the hotel, thought there might have been an earthquake after she was woken up by a loud bang.

There are pieces of glass all over the place. Everything has been flooded with water. It appears to be a war zone.

A Lindt chocolate store and several restaurants in the same building complex as well as an underground parking garage were damaged. Building safety experts were assessing the extent of structural damage to the hotel.

The debris that spilled out onto the street in front of the hotel was quickly cleared by trucks. There were Lindt chocolate wrappers in front of the building where the chocolate shop was damaged. A small group of tourists and onlookers took pictures from behind the police line.

The aquarium in Berlin is popular with tourists. One of the highlights of the attraction was the elevator ride through the tank.

The aquarium has become a death trap for fish in it. Aquariums are not a safe place for fish and other marine life.

Iva Yudinski was a tourist from Israel who had been at the hotel.

She said that they were amazed by the beauty of the film. It's all gone suddenly. Everything is messy.