In a dramatic and unexpected maritime accident, the Mexican Navy’s training vessel Cuauhtémoc struck the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday night, shattering its three towering masts and injuring more than 20 people — several of them seriously — just before the ship was set to depart on a goodwill tour to Iceland.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams confirmed that at least 19 people required medical treatment, including four with serious injuries. Despite the severity of the crash, the iconic 142-year-old bridge itself sustained no major damage, according to initial inspections.
Eyewitness videos captured the alarming moment the ship, adorned with the Mexican tricolor flag, sailed quickly toward the Brooklyn side of the East River and slammed into the bridge. One by one, its three masts struck the bridge’s main span and snapped as the vessel continued forward. 
The Cuauhtémoc had 277 people aboard when the incident occurred. After the impact, the ship drifted toward nearby piers while stunned bystanders looked on and scattered. Footage showed several sailors clinging to the damaged rigging, with some suspended in harnesses high above the deck.
Remarkably, no one fell into the river during the incident.
Sydney Neidell and Lily Katz, who were watching the sunset near the river, described seeing one crew member dangling from a harness for around 15 minutes before being rescued. “We saw someone dangling… and we were able to zoom in on our phone and there was someone hanging from the top,” Katz told The Associated Press.
Another witness, 23-year-old Nick Corso, said he had just taken out his phone to capture the ship and the sunset when he heard loud cracking sounds “like a big twig.” He described the scene as chaotic, with people running and several sailors hanging from the broken mast.
The Mexican Navy stated via X (formerly Twitter) that the Cuauhtémoc is an academy training vessel and confirmed that 22 individuals were injured in the accident. The Foreign Affairs Ministry added that the Mexican ambassador to the U.S. and consulate officials in New York were coordinating with local authorities to assist.
The Cuauhtémoc measures approximately 297 feet (90.5 meters) in length and 40 feet (12 meters) in width. Its tallest mast stands 160 feet (48.9 meters) high. The vessel first launched in 1982 and has served as a symbol of goodwill and naval pride for Mexico. It is often referred to as the “Ambassador and Knight of the Seas.”
The ship had docked at Pier 17 in Manhattan on May 13 as part of its annual training voyage, which this year began April 6 from Acapulco. It was scheduled to make stops in 22 ports across 15 countries, including Jamaica, Cuba, Mexico, France, Scotland, and Iceland, over a span of 254 days, with 170 of those days at sea.
Following the accident, a tugboat stabilized the ship in the East River between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges. City officials halted traffic on the bridge for safety inspections, but it was later reopened after no significant structural damage was found.
