Two sailors from the Mexican navy were killed and another 11 critically hurt when a sailing ship taking part in a promotional tour in New York City collided with the iconic Brooklyn Bridge, Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum said.
The crash happened on Saturday night when the Cuauhtémoc – an academy training vessel with 277 people on board who shares a name with the last Aztec ruler – lost power and struck the bridge. Eyewitness videos showed dozens of sailors in ceremonial uniforms spread across yardarms shortly before the collision, which snapped the Cuauhtémoc’s three masts.
In an update posted to X on Sunday morning, Sheinbaum said: “We are deeply saddened by the loss of two crew members of the training ship Cuauhtémoc, who lost their lives in the unfortunate accident in New York.
“Our solidarity and support go out to their families. The ministry of the navy, with the support of local authorities, is currently attending to the wounded.”
A Mexican government bulletin said 22 crew members were injured, 11 of them critically, with nine in a stable condition. It confirmed that the two who died were navy cadets – and that officials were taking steps to reunite survivors with their families.
“The navy, aware of the risks naval personnel face in their operations, deeply regrets what happened and reaffirms its commitment to the crew’s families to provide timely attention and follow-up to the investigations into the events that occurred to accurately determine the causes of this incident,” the bulletin said.
The extent of the damage became apparent at first light on Sunday when images showed the vessel docked on the East River with the tops of two masts splintered – and a third dangling at a 45-degree angle.
Seven uniformed navy members were spotted boarding the ship, CNN reported.
Multiple videos of the crash showed the masts snapping and partially collapsing as they crashed into the deck of the bridge. There was heavy traffic on the bridge at the time of the collision.
The vessel, which was flying a giant green, white and red Mexican flag, then drifted toward the edge of the river as onlookers scrambled away from shore. Nobody was reported injured on the bridge, which was undamaged, said Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, in a Facebook post.
An earlier statement posted by the Mexican navy said the Cuauhtémoc would be prevented from continuing its scheduled 254-day voyage. It was taking part in an ongoing celebration of the 200th anniversary of the independence of Mexico – achieved from Spain in 1821 – and was to have visited 22 ports in 15 countries to “carry the message of peace and goodwill of the Mexican people to the seas and ports of the world”.
It sailed from Acapulco on Mexico’s Pacific coast on 6 April and was due to make stops in a succession of countries around the Caribbean before crossing the Atlantic to Europe, including stopovers in Aberdeen and London.
Its crew consisted of 64 women and 213 men.
Sydney Neidell and Lily Katz told the Associated Press they were sitting outside to watch the sunset when they saw the vessel strike the bridge and one of its masts snap.
“We saw someone dangling, and I couldn’t tell if it was just blurry or my eyes, and we were able to zoom in on our phone and there was someone dangling from the harness from the top for like at least like 15 minutes before they were able to rescue them,” Katz said.
They said they saw two people removed from the ship on stretchers on to smaller boats.
The Brooklyn Bridge, which opened in 1883, has a nearly 1,600-foot (490 metres) main span that is supported by two masonry towers. More than 100,000 vehicles and an estimated 32,000 pedestrians cross every day, according to the city’s transportation department, and its walkway is a major tourist attraction.
The Cuauhtémoc – about 297 feet long and 40 feet wide (90.5 metres long and 12 metres wide), according to the Mexican navy – sailed for the first time in 1982. Each year it sets out at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets’ training.
