Mexican ship strikes New York’s Brooklyn Bridge, 19 injured
A Mexican navy sailing ship hit the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday during a promotional tour in New York City, with the top of its three masts slamming into the iconic span and partially collapsing as the boat floated in the East River. Nineteen persons were injured in the crash.
The New York Fire Department press desk confirmed that authorities responded to injuries. New York City Mayor Eric Adams said 19 were injured in the crash, four seriously, but the 142-year-old bridge was spared major damage. The cause of the collision was under investigation. In a scene captured in multiple eyewitness videos, the masts could be seen snapping and partially collapsing as they crashed into the deck of the bridge. Videos showed heavy traffic on the span at the time of the collision. The vessel, which was flying a giant green, white and red Mexican flag, then drifted toward the edge of the river as onlookers scrambled away from shore. Sailors could be seen aloft in the rigging on the damaged masts.
Sydney Neidell and Lily Katz said they were sitting outside to watch the sunset when they saw the vessel strike the bridge and one of its masts snap. Looking closer, they saw someone dangling from a height on the ship. “We saw someone dangling, and I couldn’t tell if it was just blurry or my eyes, and we were able to zoom in on our phone and there was someone dangling from the harness from the top for like at least like 15 minutes before they were able to rescue them,” Katz said. They said they saw two people being removed from the ship on stretchers onto smaller boats.
People dangling from the ship during the incident. Photo: X/@jbteller
The Mexican navy said in a post on the social platform X that the Cuauhtemoc, an academy training vessel, was damaged in an accident with the Brooklyn Bridge that prevented it from continuing its voyage.
The Brooklyn Bridge, which opened in 1883, has a nearly 1,600-foot (490-meter) main span supported by two masonry towers. More than 1,00,000 vehicles and an estimated 32,000 pedestrians cross every day, according to the city’s transportation department, and its walkway is a major tourist attraction.
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