Spanish
The training ship Cuauhtémoc of the Mexican Navy collided on Saturday afternoon with the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, as it was preparing to leave the city. What was supposed to be a great farewell party, after a four-day stopover, ended in a tragedy difficult to explain. At least two crew members died and another 20 people were injured when the ship's three masts broke and crashed one by one against the base of the city's most famous bridge.
The cadets perched on the masts - the tallest being 45 meters high while the bridge walkway is 39 meters high - 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, with their backs to the Brooklyn Bridge, were saying goodbye to the crowd gathered at Pier 17, on the Manhattan side. Seconds later, some of the boys fell into the void while others remained suspended from their harnesses in the air.
Thousands of witnesses captured the moment on this hot May afternoon with their mobile phones. New York firefighters were the first to arrive at the scene of the incident and numerous videos on social media captured emergency teams transporting some of the injured on stretchers. The authorities, so far, have ruled out that any of the sailors fell into the waters of the East River and late on this Saturday in the area there was only the sign of a fence given by the pressure of the ship on the pedestrian promenade that borders the river on the Brooklyn shore.
The mayor, Eric Adams, has assured that the bridge, with 142 years of history, has not suffered significant damage and has indicated that one of the possible causes of the collision could be an electrical problem that caused the current to drag the ship towards the pillars. The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, also regretted what happened and thanked the mayor of New York City for his support. "Our solidarity and support to the families," she said.
Moisés and his wife Claudia, a Mexican couple who have been living in the United States for 20 years, wanted to visit the ship. The atmosphere this Saturday was festive. On the pier, curious onlookers gathered who didn't want to miss the opportunity to take a photo on the deck with the skyline in the background and, on board, the mariachi group Huella Mexicana provided the soundtrack to the farewell with México, Lindo y Querido and Las Golondrinas, the popular melody that is heard in Mexico every time goodbye is said. When the ship began to move away from the pier, the couple thought that the ship "began to lose its balance" until it crashed into the other shore.
The Mexican ambassador to the United States, Esteban Moctezuma, also participated in the celebration along with the Mexican diplomat Héctor Vasconcelos. Moctezuma assured after the accident that the priority of the Mexican Government is the support for the injured sailors, which has been provided through the Mexican Consulate in New York. “The Training Ship Cuauhtémoc is a symbol of Mexico in the world. Today we support it with respect, with solidarity and with firmness,” he stated.
Although the cause of the accident still needs to be investigated, the first hypotheses point to a failure that generated a loss of power, which would have left the ship at the mercy of the force of the current and would have dragged it towards the bridge. One of the people who witnessed the ship's departure from land at Pier 17 points to a failure of the tugboat, which has the objective of helping the ship leave the dock. “The tugboat was never really able to push the ship,” he says.
The crew of the Cuauhtémoc consists of 64 women and 213 men. The ship set sail from the port of Acapulco on April 6th 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, it had been to Jamaica and Cuba. The trip included 170 days at sea and 84 days in ports. Tonight, on Saturday, 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 starting point.
