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Watch: Shoppers flee as Dubai shark aquarium cracks open

By Raw Story
Thursday, February 25th, 2010 -- 3:39 pm

A massive aquarium tank housing hundreds of sharks in a Dubai shopping center sprang a leak Thursday, sending shoppers fleeing and prompting the mall owners to close large parts of the building.

The aquarium tank is one of the world's largest, holding some 2 million gallons of water and 30,000 sea creatures, more than four hundred sharks and stingrays, according to the Khaleeh Times. Some 300 people were tasked with mopping the floors, reports the United Arab Emirates' The National.

An amateur filmmaker caught the leak in progress. Shoppers can be seen fleeing the area as water pours out of a wall next to the aquarium.

The leak occurred at Dubai Mall, one of the world's largest shopping centers and part of the same complex as the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, which was shut down earlier this month after problems with its elevators.

The struggling Burj Khalifa has been seen as a metaphor for Dubai itself, which last year panicked markets when it defaulted on its debt.