New York - (Saba):
A large Mexican Navy sailing ship collided with the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday evening, breaking off the top of the ship's masts and injuring at least 19 people, according to US authorities.
Videos posted online showed the Cuauhtémoc sailing under the bridge, which connects Brooklyn and Manhattan in New York City, as the masts collided with it.
Several people, wearing what appeared to be white sailor uniforms, were seen hanging from the beams of the ship, which was carrying 277 passengers.
New York Mayor Eric Adams said during a press conference that 19 people were injured, four of them seriously. Authorities said all the injuries were on board the ship.
New York Police Chief Wilson Arambolis explained that the ship lost power and its equipment malfunctioned while the captain was maneuvering, pushing it toward the bridge supports and colliding with its mast.
He added during a press conference that sailors on the bridge mast were injured, according to CNN.
The Mexican Navy announced in a post on the social media platform X that 22 people were injured, 19 of whom are receiving medical care at local hospitals.
Mexican Navy spokesman Captain Juan Caballero told CNN that the ship was on an annual training cruise.
The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on X that its ambassador to the United States and officials from the Mexican consulate in New York are in contact with local authorities to provide assistance to "affected military students," but did not mention any injuries.
The Cuauhtémoc, which is approximately 297 feet (90.5 meters) long and 40 feet (12 meters) wide, first set sail in 1982, according to the Mexican Navy.
The ship departs each year at the end of the semester at the Naval Military School to complete the training of cadets. This year, it departed the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on April 6 with 277 people on board, according to the Mexican Navy at the time.