NEW YORK: US safety officials launched a probe after a 150-foot tall Mexican sailing ship crashed into New York’s iconic Brooklyn Bridge, snapping its masts and killing two crew members in the early hours of Sunday.

Numerous sailors were positioned among the navy vessel Cuauhtemoc’s rigging at the time, video of the incident showed.

New York Mayor Eric Adams said that 277 people had been on board the vessel and that two people had died from their injuries, without specifying where they were located on the vessel.

US probes Mexican ship’s bridge collision that also left 19 injured

Nineteen others sustained injuries, he said, two of whom were in critical condition.

The white-hulled ship was moored Sunday along banks of the East River, its mangled masts contrasting against colorful decorations for its US departure.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on social media that it was “launching a go-team” to conduct an initial probe of the crash.

Nearby the ship, Aldo Ordonez said that his sister, 24-year-old cadet Alejandra Ordonez, had been standing among the sails when the ship struck the Brooklyn Bridge. His sister was temporarily left hanging from a sail, he said, but sustained only minor injuries and slept with others on the boat.

Crew members were expected to fly home to Mexico later on Sunday, he said.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum wrote on X that she was “deeply saddened” by the two crew members’ deaths.

The ship lost power at around 8:20pm while the captain was maneuvering the vessel, forcing it to head for a bridge abutment on the Brooklyn side, New York police chief of special operations Wilson Aramboles told the media.

There was “panic on the ship,” said Brooklyn resident Nick Corso, 23, who was standing near the water. “Lots of screaming, some sailors hanging from the masts, looked like panic happening on the ship,” he said.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2025