Cadet ID'd as 1 of 2 victims killed after Mexican Navy ship crashed into Brooklyn Bridge: Official
NEW YORK -- An official from Mexico has identified a female cadet as one of the two people killed after a tall Mexican Navy ship on an international goodwill tour crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge in New York on Saturday evening.
According to the governor of Veracruz, Rocío Nahle, the victim is identified as cadet América Yamilet Sánchez.
"I deeply regret the passing of Veracruz cadet América Yamilet Sánchez. My love, support, and solidarity go out to her family. My gratitude to the @SEMAR_mx and my wishes for a speedy recovery for those injured. Veracruz is with you," said Nahle in a post on X translated into English.
Nearly two dozen others were also injured when the ship, known as the Cuauhtémoc, lost power and crashed into the underside of the Brooklyn Bridge.
The collision happened just before 8:30 p.m. on Saturday near Brooklyn Bridge Park. Horrified onlookers watched helplessly as the massive ship with almost 300 sailors on board barreled toward and then smashed into the 142-year-old bridge. The collision caused the ship's three towering masts to snap upon impact while crew members were left dangling in the air.
According to Mexican Navy officials, a total of 22 crew members have been reported injured so far, with at least 11 of them in critical condition. Two people aboard the ship died as a result of the collision.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams weighed in on social media early Sunday morning about the deadly crash.
"We are praying for everyone on board and their families and are grateful to our first responders who quickly jumped into action, ensuring this accident wasn't much worse," Adams said in a post on X.
Meanwhile, the New York City Department of Transportation says the Brooklyn Bridge was not damaged from the collision and that traffic can freely flow.
Vessels moving in the nearby area have since been instructed to proceed at slow speed, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, as the Cuauhtémoc remains at Pier 36 on the East River for damage assessments and further evaluation.
The Cuauhtémoc, a training ship on an international goodwill mission, was set to disembark and was next headed to Iceland when the collision happened.
The ship was never meant to get that close to the Brooklyn bridge -- it was going south to the Brooklyn waterfront for fuel before heading to Iceland to continue on that on that goodwill tour, when its pilot reported a mechanical failure and the ship lost power. The boat then drifted north, out of control.
The ship's masts snapped as it struck the bridge's underside, and pieces fell onto the deck. Officials say the iconic span itself did not sustain structural damage. All lanes on the bridge reopened after a brief closure following the collision.
The authorities said that 277 people were aboard the ship, and that nobody fell into the water, even as some sailors were left dangling from harnesses on the masts after the crash.
The victims were being taken away on stretchers at Pier 17 at South Street Seaport.
The National Transportation Safety Board says the investigative team arrived late Sunday and includes experts in nautical operations, marine and bridge engineering and survival factors.
The agency says officials will discuss later Monday their investigation, which is likely to take months.
Witness videos capture the ship's ominous approach toward the bridge. In one video, a woman filming the ship, which was festooned with amber lights and a giant Mexican flag, can be heard wondering aloud if the ship might collide with the bridge. When the ship's mast strikes the bottom of the bridge, she screams, "It crashed! It crashed!" in Spanish, and then, in English, as the ship continues to approach the Dumbo shore, "Stop! Stop!"
"Oh my God," she continues in English, and then, in Spanish, she says, "It crashed, it crashed. Run away from there," referring to people gathered on a pier where the ship seemed about to hit.
NYPD Harbor Unit and SCUBA were among the first responders who converged on the scene.
The Mexican ship was described as a "goodwill vessel" that had plied the waters since 1982.
The Cuauhtémoc is about 297 feet long and 40 feet wide, according to the Mexican Navy. The vessel's main mast has a height of 160 feet, according to the Mexican government.
Each year, the ship 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, the navy said.
"Thousands of people came to see the ship," said Maria Mejia. The ship, now diminished and docked at Pier 36 drew visitors all week at the Seaport -- right until it left.
The Mexican consulate said on May 13 on X that the Cuauhtémoc, also called the "Ambassador and Knight of the Seas," arrived that day and docked at Pier 17. It invited people to visit through May 17.
The ship was scheduled to visit 22 ports in 15 nations, including Kingston, Jamaica; Havana, Cuba; Cozumel, Mexico; and New York.
It also had planned to go to Reykjavik, Iceland; Bordeaux, Saint Malo and Dunkirk, France; and Aberdeen, Scotland, among others, for a total of 254 days, 170 of them at sea.
On Sunday, the damaged ship, named the Cuauhtemoc, was moored at Pier 35 in lower Manhattan as the investigation by both the U.S. and Mexican governments got underway.
Mexico's Navy, meanwhile, says that most of the crew from the training vessel has since returned to Mexico.
Members of New York City's Mexican community prayed for the families in mourning and for the recovery of those injured.
"As a community, we just want to say that we're here for them," Mejia added.
An NTSB team is now on board. The agency says its investigative team includes experts in nautical operations and marine and bridge engineering.
The Associated Press and ABC News contributed to this report.
