A Mexican navy sailing ship on a global goodwill tour struck the Brooklyn Bridge in New York on Saturday night, snapping its three masts, fatally injuring two crew members and leaving some sailors dangling from harnesses high in the air waiting for help.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said at least 19 people needed medical treatment after the crash. Two of the four people who suffered more serious injuries later died, Adams announced on social media early Sunday morning.
The cause of the collision was under investigation.
The navy ship was on a promotional tour in New York City when the top of its mast brushed the iconic span of the 142-year-old bridge — which officials say was spared major damage — as it sailed through the East River.
In a scene captured in multiple eyewitness videos, three masts of the ship could be seen snapping and partially collapsing as they crashed into the deck of the bridge.
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Videos showed heavy traffic on the bridge 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.
Sydney Neidell and Lily Katz told The Associated Press 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 high 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 … 15 minutes before they were able to rescue them,” Katz said.
They said they saw two people removed from the ship on stretchers onto smaller boats.
A Mexican Navy sailing ship festooned with lights and a giant flag crashed into the landmark Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday night, shearing the top of its masts and causing several injuries.
Mexican navy reviewing incident
The Mexican navy said in a post on the social media platform X that the Cuauhtémoc, an academy training vessel, was damaged in an accident with the Brooklyn Bridge that prevented it from continuing its voyage.
It added  the status of personnel and material was under review by naval and local authorities, which were providing assistance.
“The Secretary of the Navy renews its commitment to the safety of personnel, transparency in its operations and excellent training for future officers of the Mexican Armada,” it said in Spanish.
The Brooklyn Bridge, which opened in 1883, has a nearly 490-metre main span that is supported by two masonry towers.
More than 100,000 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.
The Cuauhtémoc — about 90.5 metres long and 12 metres wide, according to the Mexican navy — sailed for the first time in 1982.
Each year it sets out at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets’ training.
This year it left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on April 6 with 277 people onboard, the navy said then.
The ship was scheduled to visit 22 ports in 15 countries, including Kingston, Jamaica; Havana, Cuba; Cozumel, Mexico; and New York.
It had also planned to go to Reykjavik, Iceland; Bordeaux, Saint Malo and Dunkirk, France; and Aberdeen, Scotland, among others, for a total of 254 days — 170 at sea and 84 in port.
