A large cargo ship has hit a tall overhead crane in a Taiwanese port, sending it smashing into another crane and then into a pile of shipping containers.

One worker at the port was sent to hospital for a cut on his arm.

The 86,000-ton vessel, which belongs to Orient Overseas (International), a Hong Kong shipping company, was preparing to dock at a port in Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan when it hit the crane, the port management company said.

The site of the accident has been sealed off, the state-run Taiwan International Ports Corp said in a statement.

The crane fell slowly at first, and then quickly, hitting a neighbouring crane and then a stack of shipping containers which tumbled to the ground.

Workers ran quickly from the area in videos widely circulated on social media.