Mexican Navy tall ship crashes into Brooklyn Bridge, killing 2
A Mexican Navy sailing ship festooned with lights and a giant flag crashed into the landmark Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday night, shearing the top of its masts, killing two people and injuring 17 others, New York City mayor Eric Adams said.
Videos online showed the training vessel Cuauhtémoc as it approached the iconic bridge over the East River, close to the Manhattan side of the span, which connects the borough with Brooklyn.
Its 45m masts were too tall to clear the arched bridge at that point and toppled when the vessel, named after the last Aztec emperor, sailed underneath.
The Mexican Navy said on social media late on Saturday that 22 people were injured on board the ship, of which 19 were receiving medical attention in local hospitals, and of those, three were seriously injured.
No rescue operations were needed because none fell into the water, it added.
Early on Sunday, Adams said on X that two of the 277 people on board at the time had died and two others remained in critical condition.
Naval cadets dressed in white uniforms could be seen dangling from the ship's crossbeams after the crash.
'No one fell into the water; they were all hurt inside the ship,' a police official said.
The official said mechanical issues had probably caused the crash, without providing further details.
At one of the suspension bridge's bases, located near New York City's South Street Seaport, online video showed bystanders running in terror as the massive vessel hit the bridge and veered towards the dock.
The bridge, a popular tourist attraction and a main conduit between Manhattan and Brooklyn, was completed in 1883. It was once the largest suspension bridge in the world.
The bridge sustained no major damage, New York City transportation official said. Traffic reopened in both directions after a preliminary inspection.
Earlier, Mexico's foreign ministry said on social media that Mexico's ambassador to the US and other officials were assisting affected cadets and had been in contact with local authorities.
The training ship Cuauhtémoc was built at the Celaya Shipyards in Bilbao, Spain, in 1981, according to the South Street Seaport Museum, which said on its website it was co-hosting the vessel's visit to New York that was scheduled to conclude on Saturday evening. The public was invited to come aboard the ship during its visit.
The ship was disembarking from New York and heading to Iceland, the New York police official said.
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TimesLIVE
19-05-2025
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Mexican navy tall ship crashes into Brooklyn Bridge, killing two
No diving rescue operations were needed because none of the 277 people on-board fell into the water, the navy said. Naval cadets dressed in white uniforms could be seen dangling from the ship's crossbeams after the crash. A female cadet and a male marine died from their injuries, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum told reporters on Sunday. Two of the injured remained in critical condition on Sunday afternoon, the New York police department said. Sheinbaum said Mexico's navy was investigating the cause of the crash and that injured cadets were 'doing better'. The US national transportation safety board is also investigating. New York police said mechanical issues had probably caused the crash, without providing further details. At one of the suspension bridge's bases, near the Brooklyn Bridge Park, online videos showed bystanders running as the massive vessel hit the bridge and veered towards the shore. The bridge, a popular tourist attraction and a main conduit between Manhattan and Brooklyn, was completed in 1883. It was once the largest suspension bridge in the world. The bridge sustained no major damage, a New York City transportation official said. Traffic reopened in both directions after a preliminary inspection. Earlier, Mexico's foreign ministry said on social media Mexico's ambassador to the US and other officials were assisting affected cadets and had been in contact with local authorities. The Cuauhtémoc was built at the Celaya Shipyards in Bilbao, Spain in 1981, according to the South Street Seaport Museum, which said on its website it was co-hosting the vessel's visit to New York, which had been scheduled to conclude on Saturday night. The public was invited to come aboard the ship during its visit. The ship was disembarking from New York before heading to Iceland, the New York police official said.
eNCA
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US probes Mexican ship's deadly New York bridge collision
US safety officials launched a probe Sunday after a 150-foot tall Mexican sailing ship crashed into New York's iconic Brooklyn Bridge, snapping its masts and killing two crew members. Numerous sailors were positioned among the navy vessel Cuauhtemoc's rigging at the time, video of the incident showed. New York Mayor Eric Adams said early Sunday that 277 people had been on board the vessel and that two people had died from their injuries, without specifying where they were located on the vessel. Nineteen others sustained injuries, he said, two of whom were in critical condition. The white-hulled ship was moored Sunday along banks of the East River, its mangled masts contrasting against colorful decorations for its US departure. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on social media that it was "launching a go-team" to conduct an initial probe of the crash. Nearby the ship, Aldo Ordonez told AFP that his sister, 24-year-old cadet Alejandra Ordonez, had been standing among the sails when the ship struck the Brooklyn Bridge. His sister was temporarily left hanging from a sail, he said, but sustained only minor injuries and slept with others on the boat. Aldo Ordonez arrived Sunday morning from Mexico City after seeing the accident on television. Crew members were expected to fly home to Mexico later Sunday, he said. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum wrote on X that she was "deeply saddened" by the two crew members' deaths. The ship lost power at around 8:20 pm while the captain was maneuvering the vessel, forcing it to head for a bridge abutment on the Brooklyn side, New York police chief of special operations Wilson Aramboles told a press conference. There was "panic on the ship," Brooklyn resident Nick Corso, 23, who was standing near the water, told AFP. He had been poised to take a photo, but when he realized what was happening he switched to video. "Lots of screaming, some sailors hanging from the masts, looked like panic happening on the ship," he said. The Mexican Navy said in its statement that no one had fallen into the water, and that no rescue operation had been launched. The ship had been departing New York at the time and flags fluttered in its rigging, while an enormous Mexican flag waved off its stern. The Cuauhtemoc, built in 1982, was sailing to Iceland when it crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge, the world's longest suspension bridge when it opened in 1883. The incident is the second deadly ship crash into a US bridge in little over a year, after a fully laden cargo vessel smashed into a bridge in Baltimore, Maryland in March 2024, causing it to collapse and killing six road workers.
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Mexican Navy training ship hits New York's Brooklyn Bridge
A Mexican Navy training ship slammed into the Brooklyn Bridge late Saturday, snapping all three of its masts as it collided with the iconic New York City landmark, injuring at least 22 people. Onlookers enjoying the balmy spring evening watched in horror as the ship, its sails furled and festive lights draped in its rigging, tried to pass beneath the bridge, which sheared off the masts and sent them crashing into the East River. The Mexican Navy said in a statement that 22 people on board the training ship were injured, three of them critically. Some US media reports suggested that sailors had been in the rigging as the ship slammed into the bridge. The Navy said in its statement that no one had fallen into the water, and that no rescue operation had been launched. Victims were rushed to local hospitals, The New York Post reported. According to multiple US media reports, around 200 people were on the Cuauhtemoc, a barque built in 1982 which had a mast height of 48.2 meters, at the time. The Cuauhtemoc had been on a training maneouver at the time and was damaged in the "mishap," the Mexican Navy said in a separate statement on X. "The Ministry of the Navy reaffirms its commitment to the safety of its personnel, transparency in its operations and excellence in the training of future officers of the Mexican Navy," it said.
