Berlin Aquarium Explosion: US Team To Investigate Incident, Suspect 'Metal Fatigue' as Cause of Incident

A team of United States personnel is being sent by a Colorado company that helped construct a massive Berlin aquarium that housed roughly 1,500 exotic fish after the structure exploded, injuring two people.

Officials suspect that "metal fatigue" is to blame for the incident as other personnel has already rescued hundreds of fish following the incident. Furthermore, the explosion sent thousands of gallons of water stored within the tank into the hotel lobby and the street.

Suspected Metal Fatigue

The massive aquarium was built using acrylic panels from Reynolds Polymer Technology, which is based in Grand Junction, Colorado. The AquaDom was 82 feet tall, located at the Radisson Collection Hotel, and exploded on Friday in the early morning hours.

In a statement, the Colorado company said that at this point, "it is too early to determine the factor or factors that would produce such a failure." However, Berlin's top security official, Iris Spranger, said that the initial indications of the incident appear to point to metal fatigue, as per the New York Post.

The massive structure exploded around 6:00 a.m. on Friday, sending 200,000 gallons of water and the exotic fish that called it home into the lobby and a nearby street. The incident prompted hotel officials to evacuate the roughly 300 guests at the establishment.

Following the blast, two people were injured, and cleanup efforts were conducted on Saturday to remove debris and rescue exotic fish. Before the incident, the massive structure was considered the "world's largest freestanding cylindrical aquarium."

According to DW News, most of the roughly 1,500 exotic fish within the AquaDom died after being sent outside of the water. Hotel guests later reported seeing many dead sea creatures on the ground and among the rubble in the hotel. Other dead fish were found in the streets of Berlin in front of the hotel.

Berlin Aquarium Explosion

Saltwater fish can only survive outside the water for roughly an hour or so because their gills begin to try out, causing them to be unable to take in oxygen. This means that the animals will eventually suffocate unless they are brought back into the water.

On Friday, frigid winter temperatures drastically lowered the chances of the exotic fishes' survival. At the time of the explosion, the temperatures in Berlin were -7 degrees Celsius. Fortunately, however, a few fish survived, and Berlin's Fire Department said that some of the creatures could survive because they got swept into puddles that resulted from the flooding.

In a Twitter post, the Fire Department said that "several dozen" fish were found alive in the remains of the massive aquarium. Also, between 400 to 500 smaller fish that were located in breeding tanks in the basement of the hotel was able to survive.

An official at the Berlin Senate, Markus Kamrad, who is responsible for animal protection, said that the incident was a "tragedy for the fish." He added that the situation could still be considered lucky that it happened when only two people were slightly injured, the New York Times reported.