Two dead after Mexican navy ship on ‘global goodwill’ tour crashes into Brooklyn Bridge

Two crew members died and nearly two dozen others were injured when a Mexican navy ship crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge late Saturday after reportedly sailing in the wrong direction out of New York Harbor.

Authorities said initial indications are that the vessel lost power due to a mechanical issue. It also took place at an awkward moment, with the East River tide having just turned, and a 10 mph wind setting in.

Eyewitnesses described a dramatic scene at the bridge, with some sailors dangling from harnesses as they awaited help. The ship’s masts struck the bridge and snapped on impact.

The ship, called the Cuauhtemoc, was on a “global goodwill” tour. It was supposed to be sailing south after leaving New York Harbor and eventually on to Iceland, The New York Times reported.

Federal authorities said they’re investigating what led the ship to instead sail directly into the bridge.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams posted on X that the ship, which had 277 people on board, lost power.

“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,” Mr. Adams said in a social media post early Sunday. 

According to Mr. Adams, 19 sailors were injured, two seriously.

Other city officials also said that initial reports indicate that the Cuauhtemoc lost power after apparent mechanical issues. After the crash, the 43-year-old ship — about 297 feet long and 40 feet wide — was moved away from the scene by tugboats and eventually to a New York City pier.

“Following our preliminary inspection, we can confirm that the bridge sustained no damage and is now open to the public,” Mr. Adams said.

Family members in Mexico identified one of the dead sailors as America Yamilet Sanchez, a 20-year-old engineering student at the Mexican naval academy. She died after falling from one of the masts, the family told reporters at their home in Xalapa in the Mexican state of Veracruz.

The incident comes at a delicate moment in the U.S.-Mexico relationship, with President Trump pursuing aggressive policies to stem the flow of unauthorized immigrants across America’s southern border and tariffs on some imported goods from Mexico.

In a social media post, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the countries are working closely together in the aftermath of the crash.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of two crew members of the Cuauhtémoc Training Ship, who lost their lives in the unfortunate accident in New York Harbor. Our sympathy and support go out to their families,” Ms. Sheinbaum posted on X. “The [Mexican] Navy, with the support of local authorities, is currently treating the wounded. The Mexican ambassador to the United States and staff from the Mexican Consulate General in New York are supporting the Navy.”

The Mexican government described the ship as the navy’s instructional tall ship for cadets at the “Heroic Naval Military School.” In addition to New York and Iceland, the ship was scheduled to make stops in Jamaica, Cuba, Spain, and elsewhere.

The New York crash is somewhat reminiscent of an April 2024 incident in Baltimore, when a Singapore-flagged container ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge and sent construction workers and their vehicles into the frigid waters of the Patapsco River.

That ship was about 50 times the weight of the Cuauhtemoc though, and the collision brought down a large segment of the bridge and did so much structural damage to the rest that the whole bridge is being replaced.

It’s also the latest in a string of high-profile incidents at American bridges over the past several years.

In November 2023, a car crashed into a checkpoint at the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls, temporarily snarling traffic at the U.S.-Canada border crossing. In June of that year, the Interstate 95 bridge in Philadelphia collapsed after a truck hauling gasoline flipped and caught fire, killing the driver. It reopened just two weeks later.

• This article is based in part on wire service reports.