Two people have been killed and at least 19 others injured after a tall Mexican Navy training sailboat crashed into New York City’s Brooklyn Bridge, the city mayor has said.
Eric Adams said the Cuauhtémoc lost power before the collision on Saturday evening. US officials said 277 people were on board the vessel, which was on a goodwill visit.
Footage shows the Cuauhtémoc’s towering masts clipping the bridge as the ship was passing under the famous structure on Saturday evening.
Parts of the masts reportedly fell on the deck. The injuries were sustained because some crew members were standing on the masts at the time of collision, authorities said.
In a statement on X, New York City Mayor Eric Adams wrote: “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.”
The mayor earlier said that Brooklyn Bridge had not sustained any major damage.
US officials said no-one had fallen into the water.
Earlier, Mexico’s navy put the number of injured at 22, a slightly different number than that given by the New York mayor. It confirmed that the vessel was damaged, saying the incident was being investigated.
The Cuauhtémoc lost the top of two masts and all personnel on the ship have been accounted for, the New York Coast Guard said in statement, with the injured have been transported to hospital.
The New York Police Department’s chief of operations said he believed “mechanical issues” and a power cut had caused the ship to collide with one of the pillars.
Crowds who were watching the ship’s trajectory fled from the water’s edge as the masts collided with the bridge.
New York police 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,” the city police department said on X.
The Cuauhtémoc was later towed away.
The vessel, which measures 297 feet long (91m) and 40 feet (12m) wide, according to the Mexican navy, sailed for the first time in 1982.
Each year it sets sail at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets’ training.
This year it left the Mexican port of Acapulco on April 6 with 277 people aboard, the navy said. Its final destination was intended to be Iceland.
