On May 17, 2025, the Mexican Navy’s training vessel Cuauhtémoc lost power and crashed its 147-foot masts into the Brooklyn Bridge, killing two and injuring 17 others.
On the night of May 17, 2025, the Mexican Navy’s sail training ship Cuauhtémoc collided with the Brooklyn Bridge, shearing off its 147-foot masts and killing two people while injuring 17 others, Mayor Eric Adams said.
The collision occurred just before 8:30 p.m. local time as the vessel departed Pier 17 on a goodwill cruise to Iceland. Witnesses reported that the Cuauhtémoc lost steering power and drifted backward under the span, driving its masts into the bridge’s underside.
An NYPD official said a mechanical failure was likely responsible for the loss of power, forcing the ship off course. Remarkably, no one fell into the East River; all injuries occurred aboard the vessel.
There were 277 people on board, primarily naval cadets and crew members. Two sailors atop the masts were killed in the impact, and 17 others were hurt—two of them in critical condition. Emergency crews from the NYPD, FDNY and U.S. Coast Guard provided rapid triage and transported the injured to nearby hospitals.
Early inspections found that the Brooklyn Bridge sustained no major structural damage, and traffic lanes were reopened after a preliminary safety sweep.
Mexico’s Foreign Ministry announced that the country’s ambassador to the United States and diplomatic staff were assisting the wounded crew and liaising with U.S. authorities on response efforts.
Built in 1981 at the Celaya Shipyards in Bilbao, Spain, the Cuauhtémoc is a 297-foot-long sail training vessel famed for its international goodwill missions. It had been docked at the South Street Seaport earlier in the week and was en route to its next port of call in Europe.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Mexican Navy have both launched investigations to pinpoint the mechanical fault and prevent future mishaps, NYPD officials said.