A Mexican navy tall sailing ship reportedly hit the Brooklyn Bridge Saturday night, May 17. A search and rescue operation is currently underway to help people out of the waters. The ship was carrying 200 people on board.
One of the 147-foot masts on the Cuauhtémoc struck the bridge before 9 pm, sources told the New York Post. Victims are now being transported to the Brooklyn Navy Yard. People in critical condition will be rushed to the hospital for more treatment. According to the outlet, many are wounded, and two people are in critical condition.
Shocking videos surface
Shocking videos of the incident have surfaced on social media, showing the high mast slamming the deck of the bridge as horrified onlookers watched. The vessel was built in Spain in 1982.
“Just watched the Brooklyn Bridge get smoked live by a boat with a massive Mexican flag,” one user wrote on X, sharing a video of the collision.
“A massive pirate ship just hit the Brooklyn Bridge,” one videos is captioned, while another post says, “In an absolutely stunning modern metaphor a ship blaring Mexican music and flying a massive Mexican flag just got destroyed by the Brooklyn bridge. Can’t make it up”.
{{/usCountry}}“A massive pirate ship just hit the Brooklyn Bridge,” one videos is captioned, while another post says, “In an absolutely stunning modern metaphor a ship blaring Mexican music and flying a massive Mexican flag just got destroyed by the Brooklyn bridge. Can’t make it up”.
{{/usCountry}}The ship is owned by the Mexican Navy, which labelled the incident a mass casualty event, The Mirror reported. The ship is called the ARM Cuauhtemoc, and it was reportedly a Mexican Navy training vessel. However, it is unclear why the ship was on a trip down the East River at the time of the incident.
This incident brings back haunting memories of the Baltimore bridge collapse. On March 26 last year, a massive cargo ship called Dali collided with Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, resulting in the massive 1.6-mile structure crumbling into the river. As many as six members of a maintenance crew working on the roadway were killed in the tragedy. Maryland officials have reportedly said they plan to replace the bridge by fall 2028.