Dramatic video footage has captured the moment a 33-ton shark tank exploded in a Shanghai shopping centre, engulfing onlookers in a torrent of water and glass and injuring 15 people.

The clip from closed circuit television footage at the Orient mall, which shows the wall of the aquarium shattering and water gushing over bystanders, has been widely viewed all over the world with more than 600,000 hits on YouTube.

Seconds before it explodes, four people are shown standing metres away from the tank, one of them taking a photo.

As the aquarium breaks, the bystanders try to jump out of the way as water surges towards them.

One apparently injured person is carried from the debris of a cosmetics counter which collapses as a result of the explosion, and fish are seen flipping about amid the broken glass from the tank.

Startled shoppers are captured taking pictures of the aftermath with their smart phones as others help those who have been hurt.

The local Xinmin newspaper said 15 shoppers were taken to hospital with "minor injuries" after they were showered with glass.

Three sharks, dozens of turtles and other marine life died, the paper said.

Police have launched an investigation into the incident, which happened at the centre on the busy East Nanjing Road on December 18.