Mexican Navy tall ship that struck Brooklyn Bridge was on journey to finish cadet training
Two people died and 19 others were injured after a Mexican Navy training ship hit the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. Here’s what we know so far.
The Mexican navy tall ship that crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday night apparently lost power shortly before the collision, the NYPD said.
The Cuauhtémoc, which holds a crew of 277 largely made up of cadets, appeared to lose control as it went backwards into the bridge and slammed its towering masts into the roadbed at about 8:30 pm.
The Mexican Navy said in a statement that two crew members died in the crash, with a further 22 injured, half of them critically.
The ship was on its way out of New York and onto a world tour, which was to include Australia, when the disaster occurred.
Here is what we know so far:
What caused the collision?
The ship lost power at around 8:20 pm Saturday (10:20 am Sunday) while the captain was maneuvering the vessel, forcing it to head for the bridge abutment on the Brooklyn side, New York police chief of special operations Wilson Aramboles told a press conference.
But the finding of loss of power is only preliminary, officials cautioned, and the The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating.
The current of the East River, a tidal strait that separates Manhattan from Long Island, carried the vessel into the road deck of the bridge around 8:30pm, according to Mayor Eric Adams and footage of the crash.
What did eyewitnesses see?
Hundreds of cheering spectators had gathered minutes earlier to bid farewell to the ship, which had been docked at a pier in southern Manhattan since Tuesday.
“The boat was coming under the bridge, and there were sailors on top of the boat, the sails hit the bridge and then people were falling off of the boat sails,” said Elijah West, who witnessed the chilling crash at Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Ismari Romero, 43, said what was supposed to be a joyous send off for the ship turned to screams as witnesses could see the still moving ship with its sailors, many of whom were cadets, dangling perilously.
“We were scared — a lot of people were screaming, a lot of people were crying,” said Romero, who witnessed the incident with her sister from Pier 17.
“We were celebrating and we were saying goodbye and singing. We were all joyful, and they departed. And then they reached the Brooklyn Bridge.”
“It was crazy. We were standing under the bridge and we all started running. Then I saw people hanging from the sails. Police boats came around fast — about five minutes later. And then police guided the boat to the (Manhattan) bridge and started the rescue. It was a shock.”
Numerous onlookers stood by the shore with cameras and filmed the ship’s departure from numerous angles — and became alarmed as the tips of the masts toppled over one by one as they hit the bridge.
“She’s about to crash,” one startled witness could be heard saying in the footage.
“Oh s**t!”
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.
“I didn’t see anyone fall into the water but lots of people up top. People ran back and were screaming!” Corso, who does marketing for the entertainment company VeeFriends, said.
“The one thing that stood out to me was the panic on the ship, and there was a guy at the back waving for people to move away from the walkway we were on,” he said.
Who are the victims?
One of the two fatal victims of Saturday’s Brooklyn Bridge ship crash was a 20-year-old female Mexican Navy cadet from Veracruz, the state’s governor said on Sunday.
América Yamilet Sánchez of Xalapa, the capital of Veracruz, died when the Mexican tall ship the Cuauhtémoc collided with the iconic East River bridge.
The other victim is yet to be identified.
At least four more are in a critical condition.
How badly was the ship damaged?
The collision snapped the ship’s three 158-foot (48.2m) masts – with alarming footage capturing numerous crew members dangling for their lives from the sails and booms after the boat hit the bridge, which has a max clearance of 135 feet (10.6m).
Has the Brooklyn Bridge been damaged?
“While inspections will remain ongoing, there are no signs of structural damage to the Brooklyn Bridge,” the New York transport department posted on X.
The bridge which leads from Brooklyn into Manhattan was closed for some 40 minutes before reopening.
The New York Police Department advised residents on X to avoid the area due to “heavy traffic” and “a large presence of emergency vehicles.”
What is the purpose of the Mexican tall ship?
The Mexican Navy tall ship has set sail annually for the last four decades as the culmination of its cadets’ training in a transcontinental journey.
New York Police Department’s Aramboles said the Cuauhtémoc, a barque built in 1982, was sailing to Iceland when it crashed.
“With mariachi, folk ballet and a community full of emotion, we celebrated its arrival at Pier 17 in Manhattan,” the embassy post said.
The Cuauhtémoc first set sail in July 1982 across the Atlantic from Spain to Mexico.
It was part of a quartet of sister ships designed in Spain to be used by different Ibero-American navies, according to the Maritime Museum.
The other three were sent to Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador.
The majestic vessel docks in Acapulco year-round until the cadets conclude their studies at the Heroica Escuela Naval Militar, the Mexican Navy’s sole training academy.
It then sets sail for a tour typically lasting over half a year.
This year’s round was set for 254 days, including 170 sailing and 84 docked at ports ranging from San Francisco to Australia.
What was the ship doing in New York?
The Cuauhtémoc soared into lower Manhattan Tuesday, local time, as just the third stop in the vessel’s eight-month voyage around the globe.
“Every port we call at and every activity we undertake will be an opportunity to showcase the greatness of our country, its values, and its culture. Be aware that we will be ambassadors for Mexico with every wave we ride,” Captain Víctor Hugo Molina Pérez told SeaWaves Magazine.
Since first embarking 43 years ago, the Cuauhtémoc has collected various awards and shattered nautical records.
In 2006, it undertook a circumnavigation that spanned a staggering 32,502 nautical miles–the longest training voyage ever recorded, according to the Maritime Museum.
The ship’s current training cruise, dubbed the “Consolidation of the Independence of Mexico 2025,” marked the celebration of the Mexican Navy’s expulsion of the final Spanish stronghold from Mexican territory 200 years ago, according to Mexican Aerospace and Defense.
Where does the ship get its name?
The ship is named after Cuauhtémoc, the final emperor of the Aztec Empire during Spanish conquest in the 16th century.
He was executed by a Spanish conquistador in 1525 after being captured and tortured for information about supposed treasure, and his death fell in line with the rapid fall of his empire.
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