Two people died and 19 others were injured after a Mexican Navy training ship hit the Brooklyn Bridge, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said on Sunday, May 18. The ship had been departing New York at the time and flags also fluttered in the rigging, while an enormous Mexican flag waved off its stern. The ship snapped all three of its masts as it collided with the New York City landmark late Saturday, while onlookers enjoying the balmy spring evening watched in horror. "At this time, of the 277 on board, 19 sustained injuries, 2 of which remain in critical condition, and 2 more have sadly passed away from their injuries," Adams posted on X.
Footage shared online showed the Mexican Navy ship Cuauhtemoc, its sails furled and festive lights draped in its rigging, as it tried to pass beneath the bridge, which sheared off the masts and sent them crashing into the East River. 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 Mexican Navy said in a statement that two crew members died in the crash, with a further 22 injured – half of them critically. It is not clear if these sailors are among the dead. The Mexican Navy said in its statement that no one had fallen into the water, and that no rescue operation had been launched.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum wrote on X that she was "deeply saddened" by the two crew members' deaths.
The ship lost power at around 8:20 pm (00:20 GMT on 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. Several sailors at the top of the ship were injured when it crashed into the bridge, Aramboles said. He added that the Cuauhtemoc, a barque built in 1982 which had a mast height of 48.2 meters (158 feet), was sailing to Iceland when it crashed.
"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 ship was later moved to near the Manhattan Bridge, an AFP journalist saw. The New York Police Department advised residents on X to avoid the area due to "heavy traffic" and "a large presence of emergency vehicles."
Victims were taken to hospital, Mexican ambassador Esteban Moctezuma Barragan told a news conference, and sirens could be heard near the scene.
The Cuauhtemoc was damaged in the "mishap," the Mexican Navy confirmed in a statement on X. "The Ministry of the Navy reaffirms its commitment to the safety of its personnel, transparency in its operations and excellence in the training of future officers of the Mexican Navy," it said.
The incident is the second deadly ship crash into a bridge in the United States in little over a year, after a vessel smashed into a bridge in Baltimore in March 2024, causing it to collapse and killing six road workers.