Two Crew Members Killed As Mexican Navy Tall Ship Collides with Brooklyn Bridge
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A Mexican Navy sail training vessel on a global goodwill voyage collided with New York’s Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday at 8:20 p.m., severing all three of its masts, killing two crew members and leaving others suspended in the rigging awaiting rescue.
Aboard the tall ship Cuauhtémoc, 277 officers, cadets and crew were returning to sea after departing a Manhattan pier when the vessel veered under the bridge’s main span.
Eyewitness video showed the ship bearing a massive green, white and red Mexican flag approaching the bridge at speed.
Each of the ship’s three wooden masts struck the steel span and snapped in rapid succession as onlookers on foot and in cars froze in shock.
Sailors remained aloft in the damaged rigging, dangling from safety harnesses, though none fell into the East River, officials confirmed.
“One person was swinging from the harness for at least 15 minutes before they were rescued,” Lily Katz told The Associated Press.
Nick Corso, 23, said he had raised his phone to film the sunset backdrop when he heard a loud “big twig” snap, followed by more cracking sounds and chaos on deck.
“I looked up and saw people running and then others hanging from the mast – I thought, ‘is this a movie?’ ” he said.
Mexico’s Navy posted on X that the Cuauhtémoc, commissioned in 1982 as an academy training ship, suffered 22 injuries, 19 requiring medical treatment.
The Brooklyn Bridge, opened in 1883, spans 1,595 feet between its granite towers and carries over 100,000 vehicles and 32,000 pedestrians daily.
Officials halted traffic after the crash but reopened lanes following a safety inspection.
New York Police Department Special Operations Chief Wilson Aramboles said preliminary reports suggest a mechanical failure caused the pilot to lose power, though investigations remain ongoing.
Tugboats later escorted the disabled vessel beneath the Manhattan Bridge and into a nearby pier just before midnight, drawing a crowd along the waterfront.
Each spring, the Cuauhtémoc departs Acapulco to complete cadet training on a voyage that this year began April 6.
The ship arrived in New York on May 13 for a multi-day public visit and was slated to call on 22 ports in 15 countries over 254 days at sea.
