Two people were killed when a Mexican Navy training ship struck the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City.
Mayor Eric Adams said the ship, named Kuautemok, carried 277 people when it hit the bridge on Saturday. Of the 20 people injured in the accident, 11 were in danger, the Mexican Navy said in a statement.
Adams said the 142-year-old bridge was heavily damaged. An investigation into the incident has begun.
Here’s what we know:
Where was the headline for Cuauhtemoc?
According to a release from the Navy’s Mexican secretariat, the ship departed from Acapulco on Mexico’s Pacific coast on April 4th. We arrived in New York on Tuesday and headed to Iceland as part of our global tour.
The mission was designed to “enhance the spirit of sailors, enhance naval education and convey a message of peace and goodwill from the Mexican people to the world’s oceans and ports,” the government said.
The voyage was scheduled to last 170 days at sea, and was included in the 84-day port at planned stops at 22 ports in 15 countries. The crew consisted of 277 members, 64 women and 213 men.
The ship’s itinerary included stops in Jamaica, Cuba, England, Spain, France, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.
The journey was also intended to commemorate the 1825 expulsion of Mexico’s last Spanish base by the Navy, an event that marked the integration of Mexico’s independence and the emergence of a new nation at sea.
Cuauhtemoc was built in 1981 in Bilbao, Spain. It was acquired by the Mexican Navy and served as a vessel dedicated to training captains, officers, cadets, non-committed officers and sailors.
The container is 91 meters (300 feet) long, and its main mast is 50 meters (160 feet) tall, about 9 meters (30 feet) higher than the distance between the water and the underside of the Brooklyn Bridge.
What caused a Mexican ship to collide with the Brooklyn Bridge?
The ship was parked at Pier 17 in Manhattan, just below the Brooklyn Bridge.
He was scheduled to depart south from New York Harbor on Saturday night, and refueled a short stop along the Brooklyn waterfront before continuing his journey to Iceland.
However, at 8:20pm (16:20 GMT), Cuauhtemoc appeared to be moving in the wrong direction and never passed under the Brooklyn Bridge.
According to the New York City Police Department, authorities began responding around 8:26pm after receiving multiple 911 calls.
The captain of Cuauhtemoc told investigators he lost control of the vessel after the rudder stopped working.
“They had some kind of mechanical problem. They lost their strength and they couldn’t use the rudder, so they couldn’t operate,” an official told CNN.
Adams previously said the ship had lost power, and other city officials have previously indicated that “mechanical issues” could have caused the collision.
The ship was also piloting turbulent waters. According to an Associated Press report, the current had just been spinning, with fast currents climbing the East River towards 16 kilometers per hour (10 miles per hour).
Mexican President Claudia Sinbaum told reporters on Sunday that a female cadet and a male Marine had died of injuries.
What do you know about the victims?
Media reports say the two murdered are identified as Zarapa, the eastern state of Veracruz and Yamirez Sanchez, 20, of Zarapa, 22, of Zarapa, from Oaxaca, southern Mexico.
In a statement shared on Facebook, the local city council of San Mateo del Mar in Oaxaca expressed deep sadness over Maldona do Marcos’ death, “expressing sincerely sadness to his family and loved ones.”
Sanchez, who turned 21 in June, and Maldona do Marcos, had been trained on the ship for the past nine months.
Sanchez was at the mast when the ship collided with the Brooklyn Bridge.
IDAN A LOS CADETES FALLECIDOS TRAS EL CUSTUCTE DEL BUQUE “CUAUHTémoc” Della @semar_mx en nueva York.
UNO ES ADAL JAIR MARCOS, ORIGINARIO DE SAN MATEO DEL MAR, #Oaxaca.
YAmérica Yamileth Sánchez, Del Estado de #veracruz. Ella Emitió Un Mensaje Horas Antes del…pic.twitter.com/n0mkv4a8en
– Zona Roja Oaxaca (@zonaroja_oaxaca) May 18, 2025
Translation: Deceased cadets incurred by an accident involving a Cuauhtemoc ship in New York have been identified. The first is Adalge Amarcos, originally from San Mateo del Mar. American Yamirez Sanchez from the state of #veracruz.
Family and friends gathered at Sanchez’s house in Zarapa on Sunday to pay their respects. Her death has brought people closer to those looking for answers.
“It’s impossible for something so serious to not be thoroughly investigated,” SSNCHEZ relative Gael De La Cruz told Reuters. “What happened there is illogical. There must be someone in charge.”
