A video of a kite in the shape of an octopus - with tentacles and all - fluttering majestically above the Marina Barrage on Sunday has gone viral on social media, racking up more than five million views after it was posted on Facebook.

It took six people to get the mammoth kite airborne, said Ms Maggie Mok, the co-founder of a kite-flying enthusiast group known as Show Kites Singapore. Members of the group helped to fly the kite.

While Ms Mok, 42, who started the group with her husband Johnny Yap three years ago, declined to reveal the size of the kite, The Straits Times understands that it is about the length of five buses.

It is believed to be one of the largest kites in Singapore, and was made by a kite-maker from China who specialises in custom kites.

"This is the fourth time we've flown the octopus," Ms Mok, a housewife who has a 10-year-old son, said.

"It's not that easy as it requires perfect weather and a large enough space to get it up into the air. Keeping it afterwards is also a difficult task!"