The Cauhtémoc, a Mexican Navy sailing ship carrying almost 300 people, crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City during a promotional tour on Saturday evening, 17 May, reports Cape {town} Etc.
Preliminary reports suggest that the training ship, which measured 91m in length and 12m in width, lost power due to a mechanical problem moments before the collision, forcing it to head towards the bridge, New York police chief of special operations Wilson Aramboles said in a press conference.
The vessel’s 45m masts were too tall to pass through the iconic bridge, which has an approximate 41m clearance at its centre.
The collision resulted in the deaths of two crew members dead with 19 others injured, two of whom remain in critical condition, according to the city’s mayor, Eric Adams.
The two crew members fell from one of the ship’s masts, a law enforcement official told CNN. They were pronounced dead after being taken to a nearby hospital.
While the cause of the collision is currently under investigation, video footage circulating on social media shows the academy training ship snapping all three of its masts, partially collapsing as it crashes into the deck of the bridge. The vessel, flying a large Mexican flag, was reportedly travelling in reverse.
A ship has collided with the Brooklyn bridge today.
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) May 18, 2025
Following the collision, the damaged ship drifted towards the edge of the river as onlookers scrambled away from the shore, with sailors seen aloft in the rigging on the damaged masts.
Sailors seen dangling from the Top Masts of the Mexican navy vessel that collided into the Brooklyn Bridge. It appears that several people were hanging and/or clutching on to objects several hundred feet in the air in an attempt to avoid falling.pic.twitter.com/Y3Bt145IxF
— Noteworthy News (@newsnoteworthy) May 18, 2025
The three-masted sailing ship ARM Cuauhtemoc of the Mexican Navy crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. There were about 200 people on board the vessel, which arrived in the United States for a sailing event. pic.twitter.com/T0Xndn1h0I
— Gene Green (@GeneGreen344103) May 18, 2025
Adams confirmed that the New York City landmark was spared from significant damage and was later reopened to the public. Meanwhile, the vessel was moved to New York’s Pier 36 to allow passengers to disembark, a law enforcement official told CNN.
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Picture: @SammmSparks / X
