US safety officials have launched an investigation after a Mexican sailing ship crashed into New York's iconic Brooklyn Bridge, snapping its masts and killing two crew members.
Numerous sailors were positioned among the navy vessel Cuauhtemoc's rigging at the time, video of the incident showed.
Its 45m masts were too tall to clear the arched bridge at that point and toppled when the vessel, named after the last Aztec emperor, sailed underneath.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said that 277 people had been on board the vessel and that two people had died from their injuries, without specifying where they were located on the vessel.
Nineteen others sustained injuries, he said, two of whom were in critical condition.
The white-hulled ship was moored today along banks of the East River, its mangled masts contrasting against colorful decorations for its US departure.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on social media that it was "launching a go-team" to conduct an initial probe of the crash.
Watch: Mexican Navy tall ship crashes into Brooklyn Bridge
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Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum said she was "deeply saddened" by the loss of the two crew members.
In a post on X, she said the Mexican ambassador to the United States and staff from the Mexican Consulate General in New York are supporting the Navy.
The Mexican Navy said no rescue operations were needed because no one fell into the water.
Naval cadets dressed in white uniforms could be seen dangling from the ship's crossbeams after the crash.
"No one fell into the water, they were all hurt inside the ship," a police official said.
The official said mechanical issues had probably caused the crash, without providing further details.
At one of the suspension bridge's bases, located near New York City's South Street Seaport, online video showed bystanders running in terror as the massive vessel hit the bridge and veered toward the dock.
The bridge, a popular tourist attraction and a main conduit between Manhattan and Brooklyn, was completed in 1883.
It was once the largest suspension bridge in the world.
The bridge sustained no major damage, a New York City transportation official said.
Traffic reopened in both directions after a preliminary inspection.
Cuauhtémoc was built at the Celaya Shipyards in Bilbao, Spain in 1981, according to the South Street Seaport Museum, which said on its website that it was co-hosting the vessel's visit to New York that was scheduled to conclude yesterday evening.
The public was invited to come aboard the ship during its visit.
The ship was disembarking from New York and heading to Iceland, the New York police official said.
