Mexican Navy cadets América Yamilet Sánchez, Adal Jair Marcos ID'd as fatal victims in Brooklyn Bridge crash
One of the young Mexican Navy cadets killed in the Brooklyn Bridge ship crash was ID'd Sunday as an award-winning swimmer who posted a beaming photo of herself in front of the boat hours before the tragedy.
The other tragic dead Mexican maritime cadet was described by friends as a beloved world traveler.
The doomed mariners — America Yamilet Sanchez of Xalapa in the state of Veracruz and Adal Jair Marcos of Oaxaca — were up on the masts of Mexico's 147-foot training ship Cuauhtemoc when it lost its steering ability and smashed into the bridge shortly before 8:30 p.m.
'I deeply regret the passing of Veracruz cadet América Yamilet Sánchez,'' Veracruz Gov. Rocío Nahle García wrote on X. 'My love, support, and solidarity go out to her family.
Sanchez, a 20-year-old talented athlete from Veracruz's capital city, posted a photo of herself smiling broadly in front of the doomed vessel earlier Saturday.
She was a renowned swimmer who had won several medals in the sport, according to a report from local outlet e-Consulta Veracruz.
Harrowing footage shows Mexican sailors clinging to rigging for dear life after Brooklyn Bridge crash
Mexican Navy tall ship lost power before Brooklyn Bridge crash that killed 2, injured 17: NYPD
Night of joy for pals of Mexican Navy ship crew turns into tragedy as vessel strikes Brooklyn Bridge: 'We were very scared'
Here's why Mexican Navy tall ship that struck Brooklyn Bridge — killing at least 2 — was in NYC
Mexican navy cadet América Yamilet Sánchez, 20, ID'd as first victim in Brooklyn Bridge crash
She is thought to have arrived in New York on May 13 as part of Cuauhtémoc's international tour.
Meanwhile, Marcos, known to his friends as 'Tyson' or simply 'Marcos,' had been aboard the ship for the past nine months and had traveled the world on the high seas — from Hawaii and Tokyo to New Zealand and Australia, the Mexican outlet El Universal reported.
He was originally from Salina Cruz in Oaxaca, the outlet said.
'Two months ago you gave me a shirt from the barque team you loved the most, and now you're no longer with us,' a grieving friend wrote online. 'God bless you up there, and I hope I see you again and share lockers with you again.'
Another friend wrote that Marcos was 'more than a friend. A brother.'
The ship was taking part in a training cruise to mark the so-called 'Bicentennial of the Consolidation of the Independence of the Seas,' or the 200th anniversary of the Mexican Navy expelling the last of the Spanish strongholds from Mexico.
It had departed from the Mexican island of Cozumel off the Yucatan Peninsula on May 4 as it set off on its 170-day planned voyage set to take in 22 ports in 15 countries.
Sánchez and Marcos were among the 277 crew members on board — 213 men and 64 women who were mostly young naval cadets from the Heroica Escuela Naval Militar, the Mexican Navy's officer training academy based in the Veracruz fishing town of Antón Lizardo.
Mexico's Navy has promised to return their bodies to their loved ones as soon as possible.
More than 20 people also were injured in the accident, with as many as 11 of them in critical or serious condition, media outlets reported.
-Additional reporting by Joe Marino
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Ventura police release details in 2023 homicide; suspect also charged in Ojai woman's death
The Ventura Police Department has released new details in a 2023 homicide, days after a suspect was arrested and charged in the case. The Ventura County District Attorney's Office charged Christian Alexandre Hillairet, 25, with two counts of murder on June 6. The charges stem from the recent killing of an Ojai woman and that of a Ventura man found dead in late 2023. The police department identified him as William Thompson, 46. This week the department said that authorities found Thompson's body on Nov. 5, 2023, near the railroad tracks in the 6600 block of Nightingale Street in Ventura. Officers had responded to a 911 call reporting a body near the tracks. The Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office later ruled his death a homicide. After what police described as a lengthy investigation, detectives obtained new evidence in the case when the sheriff's office arrested Hillairet in early June, according to a news release. Police did not provide details about the new evidence, saying doing so could jeopardize the case. Carolyn Nino De Rivera, 26, was found dead in a home in the Upper Ojai area on May 31. Investigators said they learned Hillairet, a suspect in the killing, had crossed the border into Mexico. With help from federal and Mexican authorities, he was arrested in Rosarito days later, officials said. He was booked into county jail on June 5. His arraignment on the murder charges has been continued and he has not yet entered a plea. The Ventura Police Department urged anyone with information about the Thompson case to contact the police at 805-650-8010. This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ventura police release new details in 2023 homicide
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Woman allegedly opens fire into occupied apartment in Brooklyn: NYPD
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (PIX11) — The NYPD is searching for a woman accused of opening fire into an occupied apartment in Brooklyn on May 26. The incident happened around 2:45 a.m. in front of 327 Warwick Street. More Local News The suspect allegedly fired into the apartment before fleeing on foot, heading east on Liberty Avenue, police say. No injuries were reported. The woman, pictured below, was last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black pants, and black Crocs. Anyone with information is asked to contact the police. Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting downloading the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Ben Mitchell is a digital content producer from Vermont who has covered both local and international news since 2021. He joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
2 hours ago
An Omaha food plant owner says he followed the rules for hiring immigrants
OMAHA, Neb. -- The owner of an Omaha food packaging company says his business has been unfairly hamstrung by federal immigration officials, who raided the plant and arrested more than half its workforce. The raid took place despite the company meticulously following the government's own system for verifying the workers were in the country legally, owner Gary Rohwer said Wednesday. Glenn Valley Foods now is operating at about 30% of capacity as the business scrambles to hire more workers, Rohwer said as he stood outside the plant. Asked how upsetting the raid was, Rohwer replied, 'I was very upset, ma'am, because we were told to e-verify, and we e-verified all these years, so I was shocked.' 'We did everything we could possibly do," he said. E-Verify is an online U.S. Department of Homeland Security system launched in the late 1990s that allows employers to quickly check if potential employees can work legally in the U.S., often by using Social Security numbers. Some of America's largest employers use it, including Starbucks and Walmart, but the vast majority of employers do not. Critics say the system is fairly easy to cheat, particularly with false documents. Rohwer noted that federal officials have said his company was a victim of those using stolen identities or fake IDs to get around the E-Verify system, which lead agents conducting the raid described as 'broken' and 'flawed' to Glenn Valley executives. But that does nothing to repair the company's bottom line, Rohwer said. 'I'd like to see the United States government ... come up with a program that they can communicate to the companies as to how to hire legitimate help. Period,' he said. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed that more than 70 people were arrested during the Glenn Valley Foods raid on Tuesday. It also said one of the workers, described as a Honduras national, assaulted federal agents as he was being detained. The Omaha raid comes amid an immigration crackdown under President Donald Trump. The administration has been intensifying its efforts in recent weeks, and Trump deployed more than 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines this week to respond to ongoing protests in Los Angeles over his immigration policies. The raid, in the southeastern section of Omaha where nearly a quarter of residents are foreign born according to the 2020 census, led to hundreds of people turning out to protest Tuesday evening. But it also had a chilling effect on the south Omaha community. The Metropolitan Community College's South Omaha campus and an Omaha library branch in the area closed Tuesday afternoon, and several businesses along south Omaha's normally bustling 24th Street closed as news of the raid spread. Several of them remained closed Wednesday, said Douglas County Board of Commissioners Chairman Roger Garcia, whose district covers south Omaha. 'Everybody's still on alert, waiting to see what happens today and in the coming days,' Garcia said. 'So there's still a lot of anxiety and fear out there.' That fear will show up in the form of a weakened economy in Omaha, he added. 'You know, when products are not being sold, taxes are not being collected, and people are not able to get their goods as well. So it affects all of us,' he said. An aunt of Garcia's wife was among those taken away by ICE during the Omaha raid, he said. They have been unable to determine where she is being held. The raid came on the same day of the inauguration of newly elected Omaha Mayor John Ewing, a Democrat who unseated three-term Republican Jean Stothert last month. During a news conference Wednesday to address the raid, Ewing declined to speculate on whether the timing of it was intended to distract from his swearing-in. But he denounced the action by federal authorities, saying, 'My message to the public is that we are with them.' Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer also declared that his department will play no part in checking immigration or the legal status of residents in the community. 'That is not our mission. Our mission is public safety,' the chief said. 'I need victims to come forward. They will not come forward if they're fearful of Omaha Police Department being immigration officers.'
