There's a sad update to the story of the tall ship hitting the Brooklyn Bridge.
Two of the members of the crew of the ship were killed, and at least 22 were injured, including nine in critical condition and nine in stable condition, according to a statement from the Mexican Navy.
READ MORE: Breaking: Tall Ship Crashes Into Brooklyn Bridge, Multiple People Injured
The ship, a Mexican Navy training ship, was visiting New York City as part of a promotion for the tall ship celebration of America's 250th birthday next year. They were going to be part of the great event. Instead, they suffered a tragic incident, with grievous harm to the ship and the crew. Crew members were standing on the masts; they had just backed out of the dock.
The majestic Cuauhtémoc — which has a crew of 277, mostly cadets — apparently lost power as it was sailing out of New York on its way to Iceland and the current carried it into the road deck of the bridge around 8:30 p.m., according to Mayor Eric Adams and footage of the crash.
The collision sheared off the ship’s 147-foot 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. [....]
“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.
They initially thought some crew might have gone into the water, but determined that wasn't the case. The crash also sent the people in the park under the bridge running, as the boat hit right near where they were standing/walking.
The ship was supposed to go south out of the harbor; it wasn't supposed to go under the Brooklyn Bridge. Instead, it was going in the wrong direction, according to a spokesperson for the Office of Emergency Management. It appeared to be moving backward when it crashed.
You can see here on the AIS feed via @mercoglianos her back out of the dock and lose powerpic.twitter.com/vtqgmTirJ3
— John Ʌ Konrad V (@johnkonrad) May 18, 2025
Warning graphic language:
Tall ship drifts under the Brooklyn Bridge and shears off the tops of its masts.
— Brick Suit (@Brick_Suit) May 18, 2025
You can see people in the rigging, and people are reported to be in the water.
🙏🙏🙏pic.twitter.com/AwVrd4LGNl
Mexican Navy sailing ship CUAUHTÉMOC was under tug escort before reversing into Brooklyn Bridge pic.twitter.com/6cFJhmV5uc
— NOVA Campaigns (@NoVA_Campaigns) May 18, 2025
The Mexican Navy has confirmed 20 Naval cadets injured aboard the ARM Cuauhtémoc which collided with the Brooklyn Bridge while under tow from a tugboat, Demasting the ship and tossing sailors from the Royal masts leaving them hanging from the tangled rigging from their safety… pic.twitter.com/qxbqasbZKJ
— Intelschizo (@Schizointel) May 18, 2025
At a news conference on Saturday, the authorities said the pilot who was assigned to navigate the Cuauhtémoc out of the channel experienced “mechanical issues.” The National Transportation Safety Board will be doing a full investigation of the crash.
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