Crew on board a massive cargo ship had a lucky escape as they clambered ashore before it sank.

Footage shows the heavily laden Amnah tipping over in the port of Ambarli-Marpot, Istanbul, , and it is reported that around 15 people were able to scramble off it just in time.

The huge containers can then be seen sliding down and crashing off the Comoros-flagged , after it had become unbalanced with no reason given as yet for the reason.

Further videos show the containers falling into the water while it is understood from local reports that some members of the crew who did not have time to get ashore, had to jump into the water and were then picked up by tug boats. Fortunately there were no serious injuries.

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Turkey's transportation ministry said in a statement on X: “15 personnel were evacuated from the Comoros flagged container ship named AMNAH lying sideways at Ambarlı Marport Port. The risk of sea pollution was brought under control by surrounding the ship with a floating barrier. Rescue operations started under the coordination of our port authority.”

The Amnah, which was built in 1996 and is over 100 metres long, had travelled to Istanbul from Derince Port, at Izmit Bay, which is west of Istanbul.

It comes after a man with his ID, wallet and cigarettes strapped to him in a sealed plastic bag after he had fallen from a cargo ship. He plunged into the water from the 235 metre Double Delight at around 11:30pm on November 7 and swam most of the night. He was still 5km off shore when he was spotted by fishermen the following day.

Glen Valaire, one of the fishermen who is also a doctor, treated the man reported to be in his 20s and a Vietnamese national. “My friend said to me 'Glen, Glen, there's someone in the water' it was just an absolute miracle that we came across this guy," Dr Valaire said to Nine News. "He was so fatigued he had to lay down in the back of the boat, he was freezing cold, had a weak pulse, super pale and we were concerned for him.”