Shark alarm at Alexanderplatz subway station? Funny, but wrong

The claim

Photo showing the flooded area at the foot of a roller staircase - including two swimming sharks. “Guys, what’s going on at the Alexanderplatz subway station?”

Our conclusion

We don't want to be spoilsports, but if you're interested in the background of the picture: The photo of the flood comes from Canada in 2012.
The sharks have been added. The reason for the posting was obviously a major operation by the Berlin fire department, after which an aquarium in the Hotel Dom Aquaree was damaged.

Bad news for all Selachiiologists who have already made the trip: The picture does not come from Berlin, nor are there any sharks in the original snapshot. Fishing for clickbait? ^^

The background to the picture is a real operation by the Berlin fire department on December 16, 2022. An aquarium in the Hotel Dom Aquaree was damaged and there was a large-scale deployment of relief workers.

___STEADY_PAYWALL___

Shark alert! The story behind the picture

Snopes had already reported on the picture in 2015: Escalator Threatened by Collapsed Shark Tank . At the time, it was claimed that a shark tank at the science center in Kuwait had burst. Their research has revealed the following: The photo does not come from the Kuwait science center shark tank . No, it was taken three years earlier in Toronto when Union Station was under water for several hours on June 1, 2012. The picture shows the shopping area in the basement of the Royal Bank Plaza, which is adjacent to the Union Station subway station.

Unsurprisingly, there is no shark problem in downtown Toronto. Toronto isn't even on the sea, but on one of the Great Lakes, Lake Ontario. The images of the flood triggered a flood - pun intended - of post-edited images and memes . The photoshopped shark picture is one of them.

By the way: We reported on a similar case in 2018: Shark alarm in North Carolina - Was Hurricane Florence a sharknado?

Fire brigade operation in Berlin Mitte

We wish the injured a speedy recovery and hope that not too many fish were harmed!

Sources: Snopes , KFAS , CBC.ca , Berlin Fire Department on Twitter

Another fun fact check: No, Sebastian Kurz is not “extremely swollen”

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