In a Legitimately Wild Scene, A Mexican Navy Tall Ship With 147-Foot Masts Crashed Into The Brooklyn Bridge
NY Post – A massive Mexican navy tall ship making a festive visit to New York slammed into the Brooklyn Bridge late Saturday — toppling its huge masts into the deck in a horrifying scene that left multiple crew members seriously injured, according to fire officials and sources.
A search and rescue operation was underway to pull people out of the water after one of the towering 147-foot masts on the Cuauhtémoc — which has a crew of 277 — collided with the bridge’s road deck just before 9 p.m., sources told The Post.
Three people are in critical condition, with about a dozen others seriously injured, sources said.
Harrowing footage from the scene showed the high mast slamming the deck of the bridge and crashing dozens of feet below the deck. Other masts then appeared to go down after it.
What a wild scene at the Brooklyn Bridge on a Saturday evening.
It's just such a preposterous visual. The giant Mexico flag. The fact that the ship looks like something from the Pirates of The Caribbean. I don't see it officially reported yet, but I've seen people claiming the ship lost power. Which I guess has to be the case. Apparently the sails are just for show? Or can at least only do so much? It's not as if anybody expected that boat to fit beneath the bridge. It was also sailing backwards. What a scary, borderline unbelievable scene. I'm hopeful I'm wrong, but with 3 people in critical condition, several more injured (I'm seeing 26 as of 11:30pm EST), and a search party underway, it almost seems like it would be surprising if nobody died as a result of this.
For those wondering what the ship was doing there in the first place, it's a ship that is to be a part of tall ship festival to celebrate America's 250th birthday next year.
The vessel, built in Spain in 1982, had been in the city as part of a promotion for next year’s Sail4th tall ship event, which celebrates America’s 250th birthday.
It is expected to be one of 30 Class A International Tall Ships that will parade through the Harbor on July 4, 2026.
To watch a ship that remarkably festive crash square into the Brooklyn Bridge is like something out of a movie. And it only gets crazier when you look up photos of what happens on board of the Cuauhtémoc.
Advertisement
When I first saw the video from tonight, I thought, "Well at least it was just the really tall masts. Hopefully that means not too many people on board were in danger." But nope. Not at all. Just a whole bunch of sailors standing upright a top the 147-foot masts as it collided with the Brooklyn Bridge. Hanging from the sails in the aftermath.
One of the crazier things you'll ever see on the East River. Thankfully the bridge seems to have stayed in tact. It's scary how terribly wrong things can go on a boat that loses power near a bridge. A cargo ship took out the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore just last year. It's crazy how when it happens, it all seems to be in slow motion. But with the wind and the current, there's just nothing they can do but try to clear people to safety and wait for the inevitable. Major shoutout to the rescue crew out there right now, and thoughts and prayers for everyone on board. Hopefully they somehow all manage to come out of this ok.