Mexican Navy tall ship collides with Brooklyn Bridge – Two sailors dead

Mexican Navy tall ship, Cuauhtémoc, struck the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday evening, killing two onboard and injuring nearly 20 sailors. None of the sailors fell into the water. Officials suspect that a mechanical issue may have caused the ship to collide with the bridge. The investigation is ongoing.

From Fox News:

Video of the crash from the Brooklyn side of the East River shows the 150-foot-tall Mexican Navy training ship’s three masts snapping after hitting the bridge. Officials said early indications suggest a mechanical issue may have caused the ship to veer off course and collide with the bridge, but the incident remains under investigation.

Footage also shows sailors hanging from the rigging ropes on the damaged masts, but none of them fell into the water.

“We saw someone dangling, and I couldn’t tell if it was just blurry or my eyes, and we were able to zoom in on our phone and there was someone dangling from the harness from the top for at least 15 minutes before they were able to rescue them,” eyewitness Lily Katz told The Associated Press.

Another witness, Nick Corso, had his phone out to capture the backdrop of the ship and the bridge against a sunset when he heard what sounded like the loud snapping of a “big twig.”

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.

Additional Reading:

Mion, L. (2025, May 19). Crew on Mexican Navy tall ship seen clinging to rigging after collision with Brooklyn Bridge, video shows. Fox News. Link.

Category: International Affairs