The Mexican Navy training ship Cuauhtémoc crashed this Saturday afternoon with the Brooklyn Bridge, in New York, as it was about to leave the city. What was to be a great farewell party, after a four-day stopover, ended in a tragedy that is difficult to explain. At least two crew members were killed and 20 others were injured when the ship’s three masts broke off and crashed one by one into the base of the city’s most famous bridge.
The cadets perched on the masts -the tallest is 45 meters (147 feet) high, while the bridge’s gangway is about 39 meters (127 feet)- were the last to realize what was about to happen. After eight o’clock in the evening, the ship began its departure maneuver. The cadets, their backs to the Brooklyn Bridge, waved goodbye to the crowds on the Manhattan side of Pier 17. Seconds later, the ship appeared to be unbalanced, according to some witnesses, and in reverse, pushed by the current, it went straight into the bridge. Some of the boys fell while others were suspended in the air by their harnesses.
Numerous witnesses captured the moment on this hot May afternoon with their cell phones. New York firefighters were the first to arrive in the area of the incident and dozens of videos on social networks recorded emergency crews carrying the injured on stretchers. Authorities ruled out that any of the sailors fell into the waters of the East River and late Saturday in the area there was only the sign of a fence yielded by the pressure of the boat on the pedestrian promenade that runs along the river in the Brooklyn shore.
The mayor of New York, Eric Adams, has assured that the emblematic bridge, with 142 years of history, has not suffered major damage and has indicated that one of the possible causes of the collision could have been an electrical problem that caused the current to drag the boat towards the pillars. Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum lamented what happened “in the unfortunate accident” and thanked the mayor of New York City for his help. “Our solidarity and support to the families,” she said in a message in which she assured that the Mexican Navy will continue to inform.
Moises and his wife Claudia, a Mexican couple who have been living in the United States for 20 years, were looking forward to visiting the ship. The atmosphere this Saturday was festive. The pier was crowded with curious onlookers who did not want to miss the opportunity to have their picture taken on the deck with the skyline in the background and, on board, the mariachi group Huella Mexicana provided the soundtrack to the farewell with Mexico, lindo y querido and Las Golondrinas, the popular melody heard in Mexico every time they say goodbye. When the ship began to move away from the dock, it seemed to the couple that “it began to lose its balance” until it crashed on the other shore.
Mexico’s ambassador to the United States, Esteban Moctezuma, also participated in the party on board, along with Mexican diplomat Hector Vasconcelos. Moctezuma assured after the accident that the Mexican Government’s priority is the support to the injured sailors, which has been being provided through the Mexican Consulate in New York. “The Cuauhtémoc School Ship is a symbol of Mexico in the world. Today we support it with respect, solidarity and firmness,” he said.
Although the cause of the accident will still have to be investigated, the first hypotheses point to a failure that generated a loss of power, leaving the vessel at the mercy of the force of the current, which dragged it towards the bridge, but nothing has been determined. One of the people who witnessed the ship’s departure from shore at Pier 17 points to a failure of the tow, which is intended to help the ship leave the dock. “The tow could never really push the vessel,” he claims.
The crew of the Cuauhtémoc is made up of 64 women and 213 men. The ship set sail from the port of Acapulco on April 6 with the mission of “exalting the seafaring spirit” and “carrying the message of peace and goodwill of the Mexican people”. On its voyage it was to visit 22 ports in 15 countries around the world. Before arriving in New York, he had been to Jamaica and Cuba. The voyage included 170 days at sea and 84 days in ports. This Saturday night, when it was supposed to set course for Iceland, the ship, surrounded by maritime patrols, spent the night alone on the shores of the city, between the Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges, just a few meters from its place of departure.
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