2 sailors killed after Mexican Navy tall ship smashes into Brooklyn Bridge

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This story was updated to add a map of collision area in New York.

A Mexican Navy tall ship crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge on May 17, killing two sailors and injuring 19 others on board the craft as the tops of its masts were sheared off, authorities said.

"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," New York Mayor Eric Adams said on X.

Authorities said the Mexican Navy tall ship Cuauhtémoc, used for sail training and goodwill tours to other nations, lost power just before crashing into the bridge at about 8:20 p.m. ET. Of the 277 on board, two were killed and 19 suffered injuries, Adams said. Two of the injured were in critical condition.

On X, the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the Mexican Embassy, Ambassador Esteban Moctezuma Barragán and Mexican consulate officials in New York are attending to the situation to help cadets aboard the Cuauhtémoc.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the @SEMAR_mx training ship Cuauhtémoc incident at the Brooklyn Bridge, the U.S. Ambassador in Mexico said in a post on X. "We are monitoring closely and are in touch with the Government of Mexico via @SRE_mx to provide support as necessary. You have our full support."

Videos online showed the ship sailing underneath the bridge, which connects the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan, when the masts collided with it. A car can be seen driving across the bridge at the moment of impact. The masts were shining bright with decorative lights at the time of the crash.

When FDNY marine units arrived, “We knew immediately that we had a serious incident with a boat striking the bridge, so we had reports of people in the water,” Michael Meyers, FDNY’s chief of training, said in a statement posted on X.

EMS workers went to the boat to treat more seriously injured people still on board, Meyers said. They were then taken to Pier 16, below the Brooklyn Bridge in lower Manhattan, where officials had a casualty collection point and an EMS staging area to assess victims.

Those with the most serious injuries were immediately sent to the hospital, Meyers said.

In videos, many people dressed in what appeared to be white sailor uniforms could be seen dangling from the ship's crossbeams. At the base of the bridge, near New York City's South Street Seaport, bystanders could be seen running away from the approaching ship.

Cuauhtémoc is a 300-foot long, steel-hulled three-masted barque launched in 1982, according to a recent fact sheet from the ship's handlers. The ship, named after the last Aztec emperor, is the Mexican Navy’s instructional tall ship for fourth-year cadets at the Heroic Naval Military School. She and crew are a diplomatic symbol of Mexico abroad, according to the fact sheet.

The Mexican Consulate in New York posted several days earlier that the training ship would be arriving in New York at Pier 17 and people were welcome to visit for free from May 13 to 17.

CNN reported that Mexican Navy spokesman Capt. Juan Caballero said the ship was on an annual training cruise. 

The suspension bridge, a popular tourist attraction and a main conduit between Manhattan and Brooklyn, was completed in 1883.

Reuters contributed.