NEW YORK CITY (WPIX) — Two crew members have died after a Mexican Navy ship crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge as it was traveling through New York City on a global goodwill tour.
Mayor Eric Adams announced the two deaths in a post to X late Saturday night. Some 22 people had been injured, 11 of whom were in serious condition and nine in stable condition, according to the Mexican Secretary of the Navy. Their conditions as of Sunday morning were not immediately available.
The crash happened around 8:20 p.m. Saturday, when the boat, carrying 277 people, struck the bridge, according to the FDNY.
Several videos posted to social media, including one seen at the top of this story, showed the boat gliding along the East River before its masts hit the Brooklyn Bridge, causing them to snap one by one as the ship continued moving.
There were sailors on top of the ship when the mast went “right into” the bridge, NYPD officials said Saturday.
Slideshow: Mexican Navy training ship damaged after Brooklyn Bridge crash
Sailors could be seen aloft in the rigging on the damaged masts but, remarkably, no one fell into the water, officials said.
The ship, called the Cuauhtemoc, had a mechanical issue after departing from Pier 17, officials said. It was unclear what caused the ship to veer off course. New York Police Department Special Operations Chief Wilson Aramboles said the ship had just left a Manhattan pier and was supposed to have been headed out to sea, not toward the bridge.
He said an initial report was that the pilot of the ship had lost power due to a mechanical problem, though officials cautioned that information was preliminary. Videos show a tugboat was close to the Cuauhtemoc at the time of the crash.
The Mexican Secretary of the Navy said the Cuauhtemoc was a training ship.
“We deeply regret the passing of two crew members of the Cuauhtémoc Training Ship, who lost their lives in the unfortunate accident at the port of New York. Our solidarity and support go out to their families,” said Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum in a statement.
The Cuauhtemoc — about 297 feet long and 40 feet wide, according to the Mexican navy — sailed for the first time in 1982. Its main mast has a height of 160 feet.
Each year, the Cuauhtemoc sets out at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets’ training. This year, it left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on April 6, the navy said.
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.
“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.
Just before the collision, Nick Corso, 23, took his phone out to capture the backdrop of the ship and the bridge against a sunset, Instead, he heard what sounded like the loud snapping of a “big twig.” Several more snaps followed.
People in his vicinity began running and “pandemonium” erupted aboard the ship, he said. He later saw a handful of people dangling from a mast.
“I didn’t know what to think, I was like, is this a movie?” he said.
The 142-year-old Brooklyn Bridge was initially closed in both directions but did not have structural damage, officials said.
The Brooklyn Bridge, which opened in 1883, has a nearly 1,600-foot main span 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. Its walkway is a major tourist attraction.
The Cuauhtemoc arrived in New York City on May 13, where visitors were welcome for several days, the Mexican consulate said. The ship was scheduled to visit 22 ports in 15 nations over 254 days, 170 of them at sea.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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