During the night of Saturday, May 17, a sailboat from the Mexican Navy, known as Cuauhtémoc ship, It resulted in damage to the base of the Brooklyn bridge, In New York, after arriving at the Big Apple in a mission of public diplomacy, naval formation and cultural promotion, according to Mexican authorities.
According to the mayor of New York, Eric Adams, Two crewly injured after the collision of the Mexican school ship died from their injuries: “The Mexican Navy ship Cuauhtémoc He lost electricity and ended up crashing against the Brooklyn bridge. Therefore, of the 24 injured, two have died sadly, ”he added.
Given this situation, the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, He expressed his support to the families of the deceased and said that the Marina Secretariat I was attending to the injured with the support of the local authorities: “We know that the next destination of the Cuauhtémoc ship was Icelandbut that route will not be undertaken, ”he added.
“We were giving the goodbye to some of the boys who were already leaving, when they collided with the bridge and there all the sailors fell,” said Arturo Acatitla, resident in New York, seeing that the masts of the ship impacted against the base of one of the largest tourist attractions of the city, which unites Manhattan With Brooklyn.
Identify the deceased crew
The National Board of Transportation Board (NTSBfor its acronym in English), the independent organization of the US government that is dedicated to accident investigation Maritime And from pipelines, he informed that the two members who died in the turbulent waters of the East River have been identified.
According to the formal research of the NTSB on the incident in Brooklyn, the deceased are: the cadet America Yamilet Sánchez20 years old, and the sailor Jair Maldonado Marcos23, who were among the 277 crew on board when the Mexican ship crashed into one of the most famous bridges in the United States.
As stated by the American television network TelemundoAmerica Sánchez studied engineering In the Mexican Naval Academy and, just a few hours before he died, he had had the opportunity to talk to his parents, who was enthusiastically told that the ship’s next stop was going to be Iceland.
Likewise, Jair Maldonado Marcos’s parents traveled from the Mexico City To New York during the night of Sunday May 18 to be able to manage the return of his son’s body. While, of the other 22 people who were also injured in the accident, two are found hospitalized and in critical condition.
The authorities in New York say that “a catastrophe even more mortal”, Because the ship’s ropes managed to prevent the masts from falling into the water, as well as the fact that the crew remained held with harnessinstead of running the risk that some members fall from a height of 12 floors.
On the other hand, New York mayor Eric Adams publicly clarified that the Brooklyn bridge, which has 142 years old, It did not suffer important damage after the impact of the Cuauhtémoc ship, the Mexican ship that sailed for the first time in May 1982 and, before the accident, had an approximate height of 91 meters.
❗️🇲🇽⚓️🇺🇲 – The Mexican Navy’s Tall Ship Arm Cuauhtémoc, to 1982 Spanish -Built Barque With 277 Crew Members, Collided with the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City Just Before 9 PM.
One of the Ship’s 150-Foot Masts Struck The Bridge, Snapping and Triggering A Large-Scale Search and … pic.twitter.com/deg1hm4Z8l
– 🔥🗞The Informant (@theinformant_x) May 18, 2025