Berlin aquarium bursts: Official reveals ‘first indications’ of what caused massive rupture

An official in Germany is speculating that the rupture of a 46-foot aquarium in Berlin is the result of “material fatigue.”

A massive aquarium in a downtown Berlin hotel burst Friday, releasing 264,000 gallons of water and 1,500 fish and injuring two people. 

MASSIVE BERLIN AQUARIUM WITH 1,500 FISH BURSTS, INJURING 2 AND FLOODING HOTEL WITH 260K GALLONS OF WATER

People gather on the top of the AquaDom aquarium at the Sea Life tourist attraction in Berlin, July 27, 2015. 
(Joerg Carstensen via DPA)

Top Berlin security official Iris Spranger told the German press that authorities are saying “first indications point to material fatigue.” 

However, no official cause has yet been determined. 

Reynolds Polymer Technology, a U.S. company that helped build the massive tank of water, has sent an envoy to Germany for an investigation of the incident.

VIDEO SHOWS MIAMI HOTEL THAT HOSTED THE BEATLES, JFK BEING IMPLODED

The AquaDom aquarium in central Berlin is seen in a before and after split image. The cylinder burst Dec. 16, 2022, in this still image obtained from a social media video. 
(REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo | Niklas Scheele/via REUTERS)

The spill in the lobby of the Radisson Blu caused a wave of debris to sweep the hotel shortly before 6 a.m. local time, and rescue dogs are combing the area to make sure no one was caught under the wreckage. 

The tank was the world’s largest cylindrical aquarium and was dubbed the “AquaDom,” which held 80 different types of tropical fish, including blue tang and clownfish — most of which are believed to have perished in the accident.

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A dead fish lies in the debris in front of the Radisson Blu hotel, where a huge aquarium located in the hotel’s lobby burst on Dec. 16, 2022, in Berlin.
(JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images)

Some 300 guests staying at the Radisson Blu were forced to evacuate Friday morning. 

The tank, which had become a tourist attraction with a 10-minute elevator ride through it, was first built in 2003 and modernized in 2020.

Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.