If you have ever been to a zoo or an aquarium, you know that sometimes all that separates you from the wildlife is thick glass. This can be wonderful because it makes it easy to see the creatures on the other side of the glass; however, have you ever wondered what would happen if the glass broke?

We like to think that the glass housing an aquarium would never break. Unfortunately, it is possible for an aquarium to shatter. We know because it happened earlier today at a hotel in Berlin that’s part of the Radisson Collection of hotels. The aquarium was very large. It was actually 46 feet tall and held about 1,500 exotic fish.

The aquarium was located in the hotel’s foyer, and there was an elevator that was housed in the aquarium so that hotel guests could get a closer look at the fish while traveling up or down the elevator.

The aquarium, which was known as the AquaDom, is no more. Early Friday morning, hotel guests woke up to a loud bang as the glass shattered and water burst forth. The water poured out into the lobby and the street outside. Glass from the aquarium injured two people.

According to Berlin’s mayor, Franziska Giffey, approximately 1 million liters of water (or 264,000 gallons) leaked from the AquaDom. Many of the fish remained inside what water was left, but many of those fish have died. 

In a statement, AquaDom’s owner, real estate investment company Union Investment, explained that work is being done to try to save any fish that are still alive. Union Investment added, “We are dismayed at the accident and wish the two injured persons all the best and a speedy recovery. We would also like to express our dismay to our affected tenants.”

Raddison hotels released a statement saying that the hotel is currently closed, and anyone who was staying there will be relocated.

The AquaDom was last refurbished just two years ago in 2020. Nobody yet knows why it broke.

Watch the video below to learn more about AquaDom and to see what it looks like after breaking.