Mexican navy ship crashes into Brooklyn Bridge. Two lifeless, 17 injured

NEW YORK (AP) — A Mexican navy crusing ship on a worldwide goodwill tour struck the Brooklyn Bridge in New York on Saturday, snapping its three masts, killing two crew members and leaving some sailors dangling from harnesses excessive within the air ready for assist.

New York Metropolis Mayor Eric Adams mentioned the 142-year-old bridge was spared main injury however not less than 19 folks aboard the ship wanted medical therapy.

Two of the 4 individuals who suffered critical accidents later died, Adams introduced on social media early Sunday.

The reason for the collision was below investigation.

In a scene captured in a number of eyewitness movies, the ship, known as the Cuauhtemoc, could possibly be seen touring swiftly in reverse towards the bridge close to the Brooklyn facet of the East River. Then, its three masts struck the bridge’s span and snapped, one after the other, because the ship saved shifting.

Movies confirmed heavy site visitors on the span on the time of the 8:20 p.m. collision. Nobody on the bridge was reported injured.

The vessel, which was flying a large Mexican flag and had 277 folks aboard, then drifted right into a pier on the riverbank as onlookers scrambled away.

Sailors could possibly be seen aloft within the rigging on the broken masts however, remarkably, nobody fell into the water, officers mentioned.

Sydney Neidell and Lily Katz informed The Related Press they have been sitting outdoors to observe the sundown once they noticed the vessel strike the bridge.

“We noticed somebody dangling, and I couldn’t inform if it was simply blurry or my eyes, and we have been capable of zoom in on our telephone and there was somebody dangling from the harness from the highest for like not less than like quarter-hour earlier than they have been capable of rescue them,” Katz mentioned.

Simply earlier than the collision, Nick Corso, 23, took his telephone out to seize the backdrop of the ship and the bridge towards a sundown, As a substitute, he heard what sounded just like the loud snapping of a “huge twig.” A number of extra snaps adopted.

Folks in his neighborhood started working and “pandemonium” erupted aboard the ship, he mentioned. He later noticed a handful of individuals dangling from a mast.

“I didn’t know what to assume, I used to be like, is that this a film?” he mentioned.

The Mexican navy mentioned in a put up on the social platform X that the Cuauhtemoc was an academy coaching vessel. It mentioned a complete of twenty-two folks have been injured, 19 of whom wanted medical therapy.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum regretted the lack of the 2 crew members.

“Our solidarity and help exit to their households,” Sheinbaum mentioned on X.

The Brooklyn Bridge, which opened in 1883, has a virtually 1,600-foot (490-meter) most important span supported by two masonry towers. Greater than 100,000 automobiles and an estimated 32,000 pedestrians cross every single day, in accordance with town’s transportation division. Its walkway is a serious vacationer attraction.

Visitors was halted after the collision however was allowed to renew after an inspection, metropolis officers mentioned.

It was unclear what triggered the ship to veer off target. New York Police Division Particular Operations Chief Wilson Aramboles mentioned the ship had simply left a Manhattan pier and was alleged to have been headed out to sea, not towards the bridge.

He mentioned an preliminary report was that the pilot of the ship had misplaced energy on account of a mechanical downside, although officers cautioned that info was preliminary. Movies present a tugboat was near the Cuauhtemoc on the time of the crash.

The Cuauhtemoc — about 297 toes lengthy and 40 toes broad (90.5 meters lengthy and 12 meters broad), in accordance with the Mexican navy — sailed for the primary time in 1982.

The vessel’s most important mast has a top of 160 toes (48.9 meters), in accordance with the Mexican authorities.

As midnight approached, the damaged boat was moved slowly up the East River, going below and previous the Manhattan Bridge, aided by a sequence of tugboats, earlier than docking at a pier. Onlookers continued to assemble on the waterfront to observe the spectacle.

Every year the Cuauhtemoc units out on the finish of courses on the naval navy faculty to complete cadets’ coaching. This 12 months it left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on April 6, the navy mentioned.

It arrived in New York Metropolis on Might 13, the place guests have been welcome for a number of days, the Mexican consulate mentioned. The ship was scheduled to go to 22 ports in 15 nations over 254 days, 170 of them at sea.

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Related Press writers Michael R. Sisak and Jennifer Peltz in New York, Sejal Govindarao in Phoenix, Arizona, and Gene Johnson in Seattle, Washington, contributed to this report.