(18 May 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
New York – 18 May 2025
++NIGHT SHOTS++
1. Various of Mexican tall ship that hit Brooklyn Bridge leaving scene of accident
STORYLINE:
A Mexican navy sailing ship that struck the Brooklyn Bridge in New York on Saturday night was moved slowly up the East River as midnight approached.
The ship, that was on a global goodwill tour, had snapped its three masts in the collision, 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 the 142-year-old bridge was spared major damage but at least 19 people about the ship 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.
In a scene captured in multiple eyewitness videos, the ship, called the Cuauhtemoc, could be seen traveling swiftly toward the bridge near the Brooklyn side of the East River. Then, its three masts struck the bridge’s main span and snapped, one by one, as the ship kept moving.
Videos showed heavy traffic on the span at the time of the 8:20 p.m. collision.
The vessel, which was flying a giant green, white and red Mexican flag and had 277 people aboard, then drifted toward the piers lining the riverbank as onlookers scrambled away.
Sailors could be seen aloft in the rigging on the damaged masts but, remarkably, no one fell into the water, officials said.
The Mexican navy said in a post on the social platform X that the Cuauhtemoc was an academy training vessel. It said a total of 22 people were injured, 19 of whom needed medical treatment.
The Brooklyn Bridge, which opened in 1883, has a nearly 1,600-foot (490-meter) main span 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. Its walkway is a major tourist attraction.
Traffic was halted after the collision but was allowed to resume after an inspection, city officials said.
It was unclear what caused the ship to veer off course. New York Police Department Special Operations Chief Wilson Aramboles said the ship had just left a Manhattan pier and was supposed to have been headed out to sea, not toward the bridge.
He said an initial report was that the pilot of the ship had lost power due to a mechanical problem, though officials cautioned that information was preliminary. Videos show a tugboat was close to the Cuauhtemoc at the time of the crash.
The Cuauhtemoc — about 297 feet long and 40 feet wide (90.5 meters long and 12 meters wide), according to the Mexican navy — sailed for the first time in 1982.
The vessel’s main mast has a height of 160 feet (48.9 meters), according to the Mexican government.
As midnight approached, the broken boat was moved slowly up the East River, going under and past the Manhattan Bridge, aided by a series of tugboats, before docking at a pier.
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