Mexican Navy school ship crashes on Brooklyn bridge: two dead

A historic sailing ship employed in the Mexican Navy as a training ship for academy cadets on Saturday, May 17, crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, United States. Two people died and 19 others were injured in the accident.

An absurd incident that one certainly does not expect from a historic Navy training ship. Yet it happened on Saturday, May 17, in the waters of New York, United States. During a promotional tour of the American city, the Mexican Navy’s school ship “Cuauhtémoc” struck the Brooklyn Bridge while sailing along the East River.

In a scene captured by several eyewitnesses, the three masts of the sailing ship were seen impacting the iconic span one after another and then breaking and crashing onto the deck of the ship. There were 277 people aboard the ship at the time of the accident, and unfortunately two of them were killed in the crash and 19 others were injured, including two seriously. The vessel, which was flying a giant green, white, and red Mexican flag, then drifted toward the river’s edge as frightened onlookers drifted away from the shore.

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Damage also to the city’s iconic historic bridge

According to witnesses, it appears that the ship suddenly lost power to its engines and would no longer be controllable by the crew. In an official post on social platform X, admittedly rather dry and neutral, the Mexican Navy stated in the following hours that the “Cuauhtémoc,” an academy training ship, was damaged and that the condition of the crew and the post itself is being verified by naval and local authorities who are providing assistance.

The Brooklyn Bridge, opened in 1883, has a main span of 490 meters supported by two masonry towers. According to the city’s Department of Transportation, more than 100,000 vehicles and about 32,000 pedestrians pass over it every day, and its walkway is a major tourist attraction. Hundreds of boats of all kinds pass under it every day.

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A promotional tour ended in tragedy

The “Cuauhtémoc” about 90.5 meters long and 12 meters wide first sailed in 1982. Every year she sets sail at the end of classes at the military naval school to finish cadet training. This year she left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on April 6.

The ship was to visit 22 ports in 15 nations, including Kingston, Jamaica, Havana, Cuba, Cozumel, Mexico and New York. She was also scheduled to travel to, among others, Reykjavik, Iceland; Bordeaux, Saint Malo and Dunkirk, France; and Aberdeen, Scotland, for a total of 254 days, including 170 at sea and 84 in port.

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