The Daily Populous Sunday May 18th, 2025 day edition
Authored by cnn.com and submitted by l30

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At least two people were killed and about 20 injured when a Mexican Navy training ship on a global goodwill tour struck the underside of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York Saturday night, officials said.

There were 277 people on the sailing ship, called the Cuauhtémoc, at the time of the incident and everyone is believed to be accounted for, officials said Saturday.

Dramatic video shows the Cuauhtémoc’s masts hitting the underside of the bridge and breaking as the vessel passes underneath, with pieces falling down toward the deck.

The incident occurred around 8:20 p.m. local time as the ship was departing from New York’s Pier 17, where it had been docked at the South Street Seaport Museum for five days of public viewing.

The ship’s masts – bedecked in lights - struck the bridge, breaking on impact and sending debris falling onto the vessel’s deck.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the ship lost power. City officials earlier said “mechanical issues” may have caused the incident, but cautioned all information so far is preliminary. An investigation is ongoing.

The New York Fire Department said in an email to CNN it received the call that a ship had struck the bridge around 8:39 p.m. More than 100 fire and emergency medical service personnel responded to the scene, NYFD said in its email.

The ship's masts were damaged in the collision. Nick Corso/AP

Video of the Mexican Navy training ship shortly after it struck the Brooklyn Bridge showed people hanging from at least one of its masts. On tall ships like the Cuauhtémoc, it is a ceremonial tradition for sailors to climb the masts and rigging when departing or arriving into harbor.

“We could see some people being kind of dragged,” an eyewitness, Flavio Moreira, told CNN. “I believe it was some of the staff, they were on the top of the boat. And they were swinging around, back and forth as soon as the ship hit the bridge.”

Two people were killed and two remain in critical condition, Adams said. The two who died fell from one of the ship’s masts, the law enforcement official told CNN. They were pronounced dead after being taken to a nearby hospital, the official said.

“At this time, of the 277 on board, 19 sustained injuries, 2 of which remain in critical condition, and 2 more have sadly passed away from their injuries,” Adams wrote on X.

The Mexican Navy said earlier a total of 22 people were injured, 19 of whom were taken to hospitals.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the two people killed were crew members and sent her condolences to their families.

“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,” Sheinbaum said in a post on X early Sunday.

Sheinbaum said the Mexican Navy is supporting those injured in the incident, and that the Mexican ambassador to the United States and Mexican Consulate General were supporting the navy.

New York Fire Department divers prepare to dive the East River after a masted Mexican Navy training ship collided with the Brooklyn Bridge, Saturday, May 17, 2025, in New York. Yuki Iwamura/AP

The ship appeared to lose power around 8:20 p.m. as the captain was maneuvering the ship, which forced the vessel toward the bridge’s pillar and the ship’s mast struck the bridge, New York Police Department Chief Wilson Aramboles said at a news conference Saturday.

The National Transportation Safety Board is conducting an investigation.

Mexican authorities described the Cuauhtémoc ship as a steel-hulled three-masted barque with a length of around 300 feet and a height of roughly 160 feet, a 2024 news release from one of its training cruises said.

Government documents show the Brooklyn Bridge has a navigational clearance of 127 feet, roughly 30 feet shorter than the height of the sailing ship.

There was no visible damage to the Brooklyn Bridge, which appeared to be left structurally intact.

“While inspections will remain ongoing, there are no signs of structural damage to the Brooklyn Bridge,” NY Department of Transportation said in a post on X.

Traffic was temporarily closed in both directions for about 40 minutes as emergency services responded to the scene. It was later reopened following a preliminary inspection, Adams said.

This ship has been moved to Manhattan’s Pier 36, located along the East River less than a mile from the Brooklyn Bridge, according to the law enforcement official.

This screengrab taken from a video appears to show people hanging from the mast of the Mexican Navy training ship shortly after it struck the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, on Saturday, May 18, 2025. More than a dozen people were injured, and while no one is reported missing, two people died, according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Flavio Morerira

What do we know about the ship?

The Cuauhtémoc is a training sailing ship of the Mexican Navy and described by officials as a diplomatic symbol of Mexico abroad.

Known as the “Ambassador and Knight of the Seas,” the ship was in New York as part of a global goodwill tour and was en route to Iceland at the time of the incident.

A spokesperson for the New York City-area Sail4th 250 events told CNN that the Cuauhtémoc ship had “welcomed dignitaries and media” as part of its New York stop on its global tour.

The sailing ship was expected to join the parade of international tall ships to celebrate the United States’s 250 anniversary on July 4, 2026 – in what the event is calling “the largest-ever flotilla of tall ships from around the world.”

Built in Spain in 1981, the ship was acquired by the Mexican Navy to train cadets and officers. It regularly takes part in major regattas around the world. According to a news release from one of its global cruises, it was used for training by the Heroic Naval Military School, an elite military academy in Mexico.

The ship, as of last year, had visited 212 ports in 64 countries with 756,085 nautical miles sailed, the latter equivalent to making 35 trips around the world, the release said.

This story has been updated with additional information.

Uchihagod53 on May 18th, 2025 at 02:12 UTC »

Wonder how long he'll have caps lock on this time

SarahJFroxy on May 18th, 2025 at 02:09 UTC »

truly the most unlucky accident that could've happened bar it being a canadian ship.

this is going to go so incredibly stupidly i can already see the posts

l30 on May 18th, 2025 at 02:05 UTC »

Paywall Removed: https://archive.is/8Blca - Edit: Link and content below updated.

Around 20 injured after Mexican Navy training ship strikes Brooklyn Bridge, officials say

> Around 20 people were injured when a Mexican Navy training ship carrying 277 passengers struck the underside of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York Saturday night, officials said.

> The ship lost power around 8:20 p.m. as the captain was maneuvering the ship, which forced the vessel towards the bridge’s pillar and the ship’s mast struck the bridge, New York Police Department Chief Wilson Aramboles said at a news conference Saturday.

> Video shows the Cuauhtémoc’s mast hitting the underside of the bridge and breaking as the vessel passes through, with pieces falling down towards the deck. No visible damage could be seen on the bridge itself, which was open to traffic Saturday night after shuttering briefly.

> There were sailors on the bridge’s mast who were injured, Aramboles said.

> New York City Mayor Eric Adams said 19 people were injured, including four with serious injuries. The Mexican Navy noted 22 were hurt in a post in Spanish on X, with 19 receiving medical attention at local hospitals.

> “The status of the personnel and material is under review by naval and local authorities, who are providing support,” the Mexican Navy said.

> The ship was on a training cruise, which takes place every year, Mexican Navy spokesman Capt. Juan Caballero told CNN.

> All lanes of the Brooklyn Bridge were briefly closed in both directions after the incident but had reopened as of 10:30 p.m., according to New York emergency officials.

> “While inspections will remain ongoing, there are no signs of structural damage to the Brooklyn Bridge at this time,” according to Fabien Levy, a spokesperson for Adams.

> NYPD told residents to avoid the area of Brooklyn Bridge, South Street Seaport in Manhattan, and Dumbo in Brooklyn. “Expect heavy traffic and a large presence of emergency vehicles in the surrounding area,” police said on X.

> This is a developing story and will be updated. CNN’s Mark Morales contributed to this report.