18-05-2025
Mexican Navy ship crashes into New York's Brooklyn Bridge carrying more than 200 people
A Mexican navy ship has hit the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City during a promotional tour, causing significant damage to the top of the vessel's mast.
The Mexican navy said in a post on the social platform X on Saturday that the Cuauhtémoc, an academy training vessel, was damaged in an accident with the Brooklyn Bridge in the East River that prevented it from continuing its voyage.
"During the sailing manoeuvre of the Cuauhtémoc sailboat in New York, a mishap occurred with the Brooklyn Bridge, causing damage to the training ship, preventing the continuation of the training cruise for the time being," the post said.
"The status of personnel and equipment is being reviewed by naval and local authorities, who are providing support.
"The secretary of the navy renews its commitment to the safety of personnel, transparency in its operations and excellent training for future officers of the Mexican armada".
Vision posted to social media platforms appeared to show the vessel, which had been flying a large Mexican flag, moving towards the Brooklyn Promenade underneath the bridge when the collision happened.
The vessel appeared to lurch backwards but remained upright, despite large parts of the ship's mast breaking away.
In a scene captured in multiple eyewitness videos, three masts of the ship could be seen snapping and partially collapsing as they crashed into the deck of the bridge. Videos showed heavy traffic on the span at the time of the collision.
In a statement posted to X after the collision, the New York Police Department said that an investigation had been launched and road closures were in place.
The New York Fire Department confirmed to The Associated Press that authorities were responding to injuries but had no details about how many people might have been hurt or whether they were on the vessel or on the bridge.
The Cuauhtémoc — which measures 90.5 metres in length and 12 metres in width, according to the Mexican Navy — sailed for the first time in 1982. Each year it sets out at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets's training.
This year it left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on April 6 with 277 people onboard, the navy said then.
The ship was scheduled to visit 22 ports in 15 nations, including Kingston, Jamaica, Havana, Cuba, Cozumel, Mexico and New York.
It had also planned to go to Reykjavik, Iceland, Bordeaux, Saint Malo and Dunkirk, France and Aberdeen in Scotland for a total of 254 days — 170 at sea and 84 in port.
AP
