Two people hurt as huge Berlin aquarium bursts

BERLIN - A giant aquarium containing around 1,500 tropical fish burst in Berlin on Friday, flooding a hotel lobby and a nearby street and leaving two people injured, emergency services said.

It remains unclear what caused the incident at the 14-metre-high AquaDom aquarium, police said.

"A million litres of water and all the fish inside spilt onto the ground floor" of the hotel complex housing the aquarium, a spokesman for the Berlin fire department told AFP.

Two people suffered injuries from glass splinters and had to be hospitalised, the spokesman added. 

More than 100 emergency workers were sent to the scene, which was scattered with glass and other debris.

The cylindrical AquaDom, which opened in 2004, was a popular tourist attraction in the German capital.

It is located in the foyer of a Radisson Blu hotel and had a clear-walled elevator built inside to be used by visitors to the Sea Life leisure complex.

According to the Sea Life website, the AquaDom is the largest cylindrical, freestanding aquarium in the world.

Berlin police said on Twitter that the incident had caused "incredible maritime damage" with the death of the hundreds of fish.

Water was also "massively" leaking onto the adjoining Karl Liebknecht Street, they said, forcing the partial closure of the major traffic artery. Tram service was also suspended.

The area around the complex was sealed off and sniffer dogs were being used to search for possible victims among the devastation.