Nineteen people have been injured and four remain in a serious condition after a tall Mexican Navy training ship crashed into New York City’s Brooklyn Bridge.
Footage has emerged showing towering masts of the Cuauhtémoc clipping the bridge as the sailing vessel was passing under the famous structure on Saturday evening.
Parts of the masts reportedly fell on the deck, with US media reporting multiple injuries as members of the crew were standing on the masts at the time of collision.
New York City’s Emergency Management (NYCEM) said it was “responding to an incident”, without giving any further details. Brooklyn Bridge has not sustained any damage, the mayor of New York said,
The Mexican Navy confirmed that the ship was damaged, saying the incident was being investigated.
Crowds who were watching the ship’s trajectory fled from the water’s edge as the masts collided with the bridge.
New York City’s Fire Department confirmed that authorities were responding to injuries, reports CBS, BBC’s US partner.
The department said it had no details about how many people might have been hurt or whether they were on the vessel or on the bridge.
In a statement on X, NYCEM said “the situation is developing and details are not confirmed at this time”.
The mayor of New York Eric Adams is at the scene and has been briefed on the situation, CBS reported.
NYPD told residents to avoid the area of Brooklyn Bridge, South Street Seaport in Manhattan, and Dumbo in Brooklyn.
“Expect heavy traffic and a large presence of emergency vehicles in the surrounding area,” police said on X.
Media reports say the Cuauhtémoc had more than 200 crew on board.
It was in New York City on a goodwill visit.