Crew members were hanging onto the rigging of the Mexican Navy tall ship that crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge Saturday night, video footage shows.
Two sailors lost their lives and nearly 20 others were injured when the Cuauhtémoc vessel collided with the bridge around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday. All those injured remained on the ship, and none of the 277 individuals onboard ended up in the water.
“No one fell into the water; the injuries occurred inside the vessel,” an NYPD official stated, as reported by WCBS. “According to the ship’s supervisors, it was departing and heading to Iceland.”
Footage from the Brooklyn side of the East River captured the moment the 150-foot-tall Mexican Navy training ship had its three masts broken when it struck the bridge. Preliminary assessments suggest a possible mechanical failure may have caused the ship to stray off its intended path and hit the bridge, though an investigation is still ongoing.
Nobody fell into the water, officials said. (Instagram via @Didyouknowsam, X via @sammysparks)
People around Corso began running and “pandemonium” ensued aboard the ship, he said. He later noticed 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 bridge did not sustain any damage from the collision.
“We are praying for everyone on board and their families and are grateful to our first responders who quickly jumped into action, ensuring this accident wasn’t much worse,” Adams said at a news conference on Saturday night.
Two sailors were killed and nearly 20 others were injured when the Cuauhtémoc ship struck the bridge. (Instagram via @Didyouknowsam, X via @sammysparks)
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum offered “solidarity and support” to the families of the deceased crew members after the crash.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of two crew members of the Cuauhtémoc Training Ship, who lost their lives in the unfortunate accident in New York Harbor. Our sympathy and support go out to their families,” she wrote Saturday night on on X.
The Cuauhtémoc was built in Bilbao, Spain, in 1981 and has won the Tall Ships’ Races twice, according to Sail Training International. The ship was in New York City as part of a promotion for an event next year that celebrates America’s 250th birthday.
