A training boat of the Mexican Navy is seen in front of the Manhattan bridge, after it was damaged to the Brooklyn bridge in New York City, USA, on May 17, 2025.
Santiago Lyon | Reuters
Two people died and more than a dozen others were injured when a historic Mexican naval training boat hit the Brooklyn bridge in New York City on Saturday night, said Mayor Eric Adams.
Twenty -one people were injured, said a spokesman for the United States Coast Guard on the early Sunday, and were taken to the coast through a small boat before being transferred to a hospital. Adams had previously said in X that 19 were injured, two were in critical “and 2 more have died sadly from their wounds.”
Others were reviewed, and the divers were investigating the waters in the scene as a caution, three police sources said with knowledge of the incident.
Adams said at a press conference on Saturday night that the high ship with 277 people on board suffered a mechanical setback that caused him to divert the bridge, since he sailed from spring 17 on the road to the sea.
“The pilot lost the power of the ship,” he said, added that two crew members were in a mast and were injured in the collision.
Chief Wilson Aramboles of the Special Operations Division of the New York Police Department said the collision occurred around 8:20 pm
The inspectors were immediately sent to evaluate the condition of the bridge, police sources said. The commissioner of the New York City Transportation Department, Yanis RodrÃguez, said that the head of the bridge division was in the place, with a preliminary evaluation that concluded that there were no significant damage signs.
Adams said the bridge was open.
Commercial traffic was suspended in the area, and the Coast Guard sector, New York, established a “security zone” from the Brooklyn bridge to the Manhattan bridge, said the spokesman of the Coast Guard.
A training ship of the Mexican Navy in front of the Manhattan bridge is seen, after the Brooklyn bridge was damaged in New York City, USA. UU., May 17, 2025. Reuters/Santiago Lyon
Santiago Lyon | Reuters
No one fell into the water, authorities said at the press conference. The ship finally headed to Iceland, said Aramboles.
The video of the scene showed two masts on the ship, illuminated in incandescent colors when the night fell, hitting the bridge, with people on the mast hanging.
Another video before the bridge strike showed around 80 people standing on the masts of the ship, apparently secured through harnesses. The coastal guard spokesman said the boat lost the three masts during the accident.
The witnesses interviewed by NBC New York said that the ship, which at least one said it was no stranger to the East River and local waters, seemed to have a party atmosphere with music.
On the coast after the collision, the paramedics were seen displaying some of the wounded on stretchers, some with orthopedic devices. You could hear the spectators singing: “Mexico! Mexico!”
Esteban Moctezuma Barragán, a Mexican ambassador to the United States, at the press conference identified the ship as a Cuauhtémoc arm, a historic training ship of the Mexican Navy.
Although it appears as a navigation ambassador for Mexico for the celebrations of Sail4th 250 next year, an event spokesman said in a statement on Saturday night that the “Mexican Cuauhtémoc ship is not one of the ships committed so far to participate in the Sail4th 250 event next year.”
The spokesman continued: “Chris O’Brien, president of Sail4th 250, is deeply sad for what he is learning about tonight’s collision and is following the news with wounded sailors in their prayers.”
The city Seport Museum in Pier 17 organized the ship until Saturday, with a public visualization scheduled during its five -day stay.
The Sail4th 250 Events of New York City will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States on July 4, 2026, which is announced as the largest flotilla in high ships around the world.
The non -profit United Kingdom Sail Training International describes the ship that is being built in Bilbao, Spain, in 1981 and originally called “Celaya”.
“Later it was acquired by the Mexican Navy as a training ship for officers, cadets, small officers and sailors,” according to the group. “Cuauhtemoc navigated the world for thirteen years and in 1995 he underwent an important reconditioning of the ship and the rig.”
The New York Police Department said he was investigating the incident. The press conference officials said that the National Transport Security Board would also investigate the cause of the collision.
Police asked people to stay away from the bridge area and nearby streets.
