A large cargo ship crashed into a crane in Taiwan on Thursday, sending it toppling towards terrified dock workers. According to the Daily Mail, the 80,000-tonne ship was preparing to dock when it hit an overhead crane at a port in Kaohsiung. Dramatic footage that is now going viral online has captured the ensuing mayhem that occurred when the hit crane, in turn, crashed into another crane. The two overhead cranes then toppled towards a stack of shipping containers and sent them tumbling to the ground.
In the video that has gone viral online, dock workers can be seen running for their lives to avoid getting struck by the containers.
"The gantry crane (GC8) experienced complete collapse and, during its fall, severely damaged a second, adjacent gantry crane (GC6)," the Taiwan International Ports Corp. Ltd. said in a statement.
The footage has racked up a whopping 2.1 million views on Twitter. "That was scary," wrote one person in the comments section on the microblogging platform. "Imagine making a mistake at work of this magnitude," another said.
According to Taiwan News, one dock worker, surnamed Chang, suffered laceration on his right arm. He was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Two engineers were also trapped inside the crane after the accident. Rescuers were able to use a 60-meter mast-type jib crane to help them out of the wreckage. They did not suffer any serious physical injuries.
The container ship was reportedly operated by Orient Overseas Ltd, a Hong Kong shipping company. The site of the accident has now been sealed off and the estimated value of the loss to the affected containers remains to be investigated.
