A Mexican Navy tall ship that collided with the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday night reportedly lost power just moments before the crash, according to the NYPD, as cited by the New York Post.
The accident resulted in two fatalities, multiple injuries, and significant damage to the ship’s towering masts.
The vessel, Cuauhtémoc—a nearly 300-foot-long training ship carrying 277 people, most of them cadets—appeared to lose control and reversed into the iconic bridge around 8:30 p.m. local time.
Footage captured by multiple eyewitnesses shows the Cuauhtémoc drifting toward the Brooklyn side of the East River before its towering masts struck the main span of the Brooklyn Bridge. “You could hear it snap,” witness Nick Corso told The New York Times, describing the aftermath as “pandemonium.”
Videos shared online show the ship illuminated with festive rigging lights and flying a large Mexican flag as it drifted helplessly into the bridge. Several sailors were seen clinging to the rigging, though none reportedly fell into the water. “We saw someone dangling… for at least 15 minutes before they were rescued,” eyewitness Lily Katz told the Associated Press.