WAM
18 May 2025

NEW YORK,18th May, 2025 (WAM) - A Mexican navy sailing ship on a global goodwill tour struck the Brooklyn Bridge in New York on Saturday, snapping its three masts, killing two crew members and leaving some sailors dangling from harnesses high in the air waiting for help, according to media reports.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the 142-year-old bridge was spared major damage but at least 19 people aboard the ship needed medical treatment.

Two of the four people who suffered serious injuries later died, Adams announced on social media early Sunday.

The cause of the collision was under investigation.

In a scene captured in multiple eyewitness videos, the ship, called the Cuauhtemoc, could be seen traveling swiftly in reverse toward the bridge near the Brooklyn side of the East River. Then, its three masts struck the bridge's span and snapped, one by one, as the ship kept moving.

The vessel, which was flying a giant Mexican flag and had 277 people aboard, then drifted into a pier on the riverbank as onlookers scrambled away.

The Mexican navy said in a post on the social platform X that the Cuauhtemoc was an academy training vessel. It said a total of 22 people were injured, 19 of whom needed medical treatment.

Traffic was halted after the collision but was allowed to resume after an inspection, city officials said.

The Cuauhtemoc is about 297ft (90m) long and 40ft (12m) wide, according to the Mexican navy. It was built in Spain and 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.

It left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on 6 April with 277 people onboard, the navy said at the time.