A video has been released capturing the shocking moment a tourist helicopter crashed near the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, leaving a teenager critically injured.

The video, filmed by eyewitness Shawn Winrich, shows the Bell 206 aircraft in flight then suddenly dive downwards into the water, causing a huge splash as it sank below the waves, leaving a 15-year-old boy with extensive injuries.

Five people, including a family of four, were on board the helicopter at the time of the incident.

Since being posted on YouTube, the video has gone viral, attracting more than 500,000 views.

Hawaii's helicopter sightseeing industry has suffered tragedies before, recording 59 crashes between 1981 to 2008, in which more than 50 individuals were killed, according to the Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine journal.

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