On May 17th, a Mexican Navy training ship, the Cuauhtemoc, crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. This unexpected accident injured twenty-two people and caused two casualties. The ship was on a goodwill tour whose final destination was Iceland. It was headed in the direction of the New York Harbor and was planning to make a stop at the Brooklyn Waterfront to refuel when it suddenly crashed into the bridge. The cause of the crash remained unknown for several days after, but now it has come to light that the collision was caused by a mechanical malfunction, which led to a power loss in the entirety of the ship. 

The bridge, which was temporarily closed to traffic, reopened shortly after the crash without any need for major reconstruction. The ship, which lost all three of its masts, put an end to the tour and returned to Mexico, and the lives of two crew members who were killed in the accident were mourned at Pier 36, where the ship was docked. 

When the ship hit the bridge, witness Kelvin Flores told the BBC he saw the crash from work. He described the street as full of “commotion and chaos” with emergency vehicles stuck in traffic. He was shocked by the “insane” damage and saw people using stretchers to help the injured.