The huge saltwater aquarium burst open without any immediate explanation, spilling almost 265,000 gallons of water and 1,500 fish onto the floor of a business and leisure complex in a busy district of Germany's capital.

Police and fire department officials said two people were injured by shards of glass and the explosive force of the aquarium's failure sent parts of the building's facade flying onto the street outside.

Police said they were alerted to a loud noise in Berlin's Mitte district at around 5:45 a.m. local time (11:45 p.m. Eastern on Thursday).

The fire department was alerted by an automatic alarm in the DomAquarée complex, which houses various businesses including a Radisson Blu hotel, at the same time.

The "Aqua-Dom" saltwater aquarium is seen in the lobby of a business and leisure complex in Berlin, Germany, in a file image taken from video shot in 2003.

The tank itself was 52 feet high and almost 38 feet in diameter, made of acrylic glass. Visitors could ride an elevator right up through the middle of the aquarium.

Around 1,500 saltwater fish of more than 100 different species lived in the tank. The aquarium was reportedly extensively modernized in the summer of 2020. 

(source)