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Original poster

I want to see the actual cctv of the Berlin hotel aquarium popping. 1 million litres + fish destroyed

124 replies

Spliffle · 16/12/2022 13:35

For those who haven't heard, a Berlin hotel cylindrical aquarium containing 1 million litres of water & tropical fish exploded, dumping everything through the ground floor of the hotel & out into the street. I also want to know how this happened? Was it a design flaw? There must've been damage somewhere for it to suddenly break. There must be cctv too surely? I can't imagine 900 fish flapping about on the floor.. Anyone else curious about this?

OP posts:
AncientQueenOfKish · 16/12/2022 15:04

I want to see what happened to the tank, how/why it broke.

Yes that was my thought when I read about it, but I did feel awful for the fish - both for them dying, and for them having to live there in the first place. But I wanted to know how it could have happened and physically how it shattered.

MrsTerryPratchett · 16/12/2022 15:04

BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 16/12/2022 13:40

I just heard about that on the radio. Some people were injured by glass, it was lucky that nobody was killed.

I've been to lots of aquariums where the visitors are below water level of absolutely huge tanks and it had never once occurred to me that they might fail. I had always assumed that they were over-engineered to withstand multiple the levels of stress that they actually do.

I thought that too, it's interesting. Although sad.

SirChenjins · 16/12/2022 15:04

It must have been a design flaw but the CCTV isn't going to show what it is - all it's going to show is the tank exploding, lots of water flooding out, people being injured and dead fish. Why on earth do you want to see that?

shinynewapple22 · 16/12/2022 15:05

Anewhoo · 16/12/2022 13:38

Why do you want to see the death of hundreds of fish?

This. It's a rather odd thing to want to see IMO.

NooNakedJacuzziness · 16/12/2022 15:07

Awful. I hate walking through those glass tunnels you get at aquariums in case something like that happens. Imagine the sharks!!

WeAreTheHeroes · 16/12/2022 15:09

Can't imagine why you'd want to see it go. Glass can have gases trapped in tiny imperfections which expand and contract with temperature changes, amongst other things. I've known toughened glass doors explode. Luckily no one was around when it happened. The glass shatters like a windscreen does and drops to the floor, but the metal hinges, handles, etc can travel a few feet.

SBAM · 16/12/2022 15:10

I stayed there years ago, it was spectacular and we went round the sealife aquarium tour too. I’d never considered tanks like that could fail so massively, I assumed they’d have to be so over engineered and obsessively monitored.

I hope they’re able to understand why it happened because this isn’t the only enormous aquarium that could potentially cause people and fish to die.

AngelontopoftheTree · 16/12/2022 15:11

kittykarate · 16/12/2022 15:04

If you look at this photo I took in 2010, you can see it was fully inside the atrium of the hotel. Very easy to see how people were injured, as the base of the tank is directly above the bar.

Thanks @kittykarate , that's a great photo!

Cookerhood · 16/12/2022 15:14

The photos on the news looks as though a bomb had gone off - I presume there's no suggestion of that? Those poor fish :(

ErrolTheDragon · 16/12/2022 15:16

I want to see what happened to the tank, how/why it broke.

I'm sure there will be an analysis of this, but it's bound to take a while.

Pandor · 16/12/2022 15:16

It sounds very holier-than-thou to do the whole “I can’t POSSiBLY imagine why you would want to see it”.

people would want to see it as it sounds like the sort of spectacular explosion you would normally only see at the cinema, and big unusual events are interesting. Given rubber-necking is a very common phenomenon it seems utterly normal that people would be interested.

I doubt the dead fish will really care one way or the other if you are above watching such things.

Abraxan · 16/12/2022 15:18

Shesasuperfreak · 16/12/2022 13:42

Didn't people die though?
I dont want to see a snuff film

No one has died. I think two people were hurt but not life threatening or seriously iirr.

Whilst it's sad about the fish I'd like to know more about how the glass just broke. You always assume these big aquarium glasses are so thick and tough.

jtaeapa · 16/12/2022 15:19

I think it's lucky that it burst before 6am otherwise the amount/severity of injuries could have been much much worse, including fatalities.

Itwasntevenblackpudding · 16/12/2022 15:20

I want to see what happened to the tank, how/why it broke.

Gosh, well if you want to see it they should make it available to you immediately.

Does it not occur to you that lots of other people (accident investigators/insurers/police/security services) might want to find out what happened too? Do you understand how investigations work or do you imagine that they will just sweep up all the broken glass, go "ho hum" and bung all the footage on YouTube?

AncientQueenOfKish · 16/12/2022 15:22

Yes it could have been loads of (human) deaths/severe injuries if the lobby was full so it was very lucky. Imagine being the designer/constructor of it.

GoodVibesHere · 16/12/2022 15:26

BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 16/12/2022 13:40

I just heard about that on the radio. Some people were injured by glass, it was lucky that nobody was killed.

I've been to lots of aquariums where the visitors are below water level of absolutely huge tanks and it had never once occurred to me that they might fail. I had always assumed that they were over-engineered to withstand multiple the levels of stress that they actually do.

I'm the complete opposite to this, I've often thought imagine if an aquarium breaks and the sharks get out or people drown (in a walk-through aquarium).

But I always think worst case scenario wherever I go, e.g. what if this bridge fails, what if this lift plunges to the ground etc. It's exhausting but I can't hell think things through to horrible end Sad

Atmywitsend29 · 16/12/2022 15:27

I would honestly be so interested to see footage of it actually happening. I find the whole thing quite fascinating.
Very sad for the fish though

MaggieMagpie357 · 16/12/2022 15:27

My DD went to Berlin on a history trip back in October, and they ate at the restaurant in this hotel - she sent me a picture of the aquarium saying how amazing it was. She was hoping to go back and see it again one day! I can't bear to think of all the marine life that's been destroyed - how on earth could it have happened and where do they even begin the investigation?!

MotherOfCrocodiles · 16/12/2022 15:30

You could go up an elevator in the middle of it- I have done so- it is a very good job no one was in there!

IBrokeAFishTank · 16/12/2022 15:34

I've NCed for this. I once went to a house which had a huge aquarium built into a storage/display unit which covered a whole wall - it was gorgeous. I was meeting the owner of the property there for a professional visit/meeting. When I was leaving I went to look at the fish, caught my shoe heel and stumbled against the tank with my handbag and the glass smashed (it didn't shatter, it came apart in large thick pieces, it's a wonder we weren't hurt). Thankfully we saved the fish as we got them into bowls of water (although typing that I wonder now if they did die afterwards and the owner was just too kind to tell me).

It was an insurance claim job, not just for the aquarium for carpets/household items/my handbag and shoes etc and they concluded there must have been a fault in the glass (similar to if you get a small chip in your car windscreen and a few weeks later it cracks). I still felt guilty for ages though and years later I can't even see an aquarium without wincing. Obviously I've never taken my DC to Sealife.

The Berlin one sounds awful though, those poor fish. I hope no one is too badly hurt.

MaggieFS · 16/12/2022 15:50

I agree with pp. Very sad for the fish. Very fortunate it was so early that there weren't more human injuries. I'd like to see the footage of the moment if happened.

Anewhoo · 16/12/2022 15:51

Unless you’re a structural glass specialist, I highly doubt you’re going to be able to ascertain the reasons for the failure of the glass. Sounds like you just want to see the video, which is fine, but you don’t need to dress it up like you’re doing some forensic analysis.

Itwasntevenblackpudding · 16/12/2022 15:55

Anewhoo · 16/12/2022 15:51

Unless you’re a structural glass specialist, I highly doubt you’re going to be able to ascertain the reasons for the failure of the glass. Sounds like you just want to see the video, which is fine, but you don’t need to dress it up like you’re doing some forensic analysis.

Thanks. You have managed to put it a bit more succinctly than I did!

I hope the people investigating have realised that they need to come straight to MN to find out what happened instead of using all of their specialist skills and resources and available CCTV

NancyPickford · 16/12/2022 15:56

Meanwhile a pop-up sushi bar opened up round the corner.

HangingOver · 16/12/2022 15:58

Watch some videos of industrial fishing vessels at work then you can see thousands of them dying