7:20PM PT -- CBS put out a statement confirming on of their cameramen had suffered a medical emergency, but says he's "okay and recovering."

A terrifying moment happened live on-air when a CBS crew member suffered a medical emergency during an overseas broadcast, throwing the entire show into chaos and forcing an abrupt cut to commercial.

The incident went down Tuesday during the "CBS Evening News," which was broadcasting from Taiwan.

Viewers could see the situation unravel in real time ... the camera suddenly started shaking as anchor Tony Dokoupil kept reading from the teleprompter ... before stopping mid sentence and asking if the crew member was okay.

Dokoupil quickly told viewers there was a medical emergency and they were taking a break, while he and another crew member could be heard urgently saying they were calling for a doctor.

The broadcast then cut back to CBS' New York studio, where Matt Gutman was standing by and told viewers they'd be right back.

We've reached out to CBS for comment ... so far, no word back.