DUBAI // A crack in Dubai Mall's aquarium, one of the world's largest tanks, flooded several areas of the world's biggest shopping arcade this afternoon.
Security staff immediately cordoned off large sections of the mall as huge pools of water formed in the section close to the aquarium, which holds 10 million litres of water and up to 30,000 maritime creatures.
A mall manager said that as many as 300 cleaners were deployed to mop the water off the floors.
A civil defence spokesman confirmed that the flooding was a result of a "crack in the aquarium". He said that the situation is under control and a team is working on fixing the problem.
Shop staff near the aquarium were told to leave their shops.
Lt Col Omar al Shamsi, the director of the command and control room at Dubai Police, confirmed that the operation room received a report regarding the damage of the Aquarium.
"When we received the report we deployed police patrols to supervise the situation," he said.
Matthew Schrieber, 56, from Germany said he was told to leave the area around the tank. "I saw all this water on the floor and staff running around with mops. Then we were told to leave but nobody would tell us what happened."
John and Rosemary Rooney, visiting from Northern Ireland, said security staff had cordoned off too many areas, including many apparently unaffected by the leak.
"Where I come from, if a place is cordoned off to this extent you imagine there's a bomb scare," said Mr Rooney, 57.
His wife added: "It's a bit crazy to cordon off the whole place like this when it's only one area that's affected. We were up on the third floor, and you couldn't access the hall area that overlooks the aquarium, which seems odd."
* Additional reporting by Hugh Naylor
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Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Her family: She has four sons, aged 29, 27, 25 and 24 and is a grandmother-of-nine
Favourite book: Flashes of Thought by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid
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Her hobbies: Reading and volunteer work
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Her motto: I don't wait, I initiate
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