Mexican tall ship strikes Brooklyn Bridge, snapping masts, injuring sailors
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New York (AP): A Mexican navy sailing ship hit the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday during a promotional tour in New York City, the top of its three masts slamming into the iconic span and partially collapsing as the boat floated in the East River. Nineteen people were injured in the crash.
The New York Fire Department press desk confirmed that authorities responded to injuries.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said 19 people were injured in the crash, four seriously, but the 142-year-old bridge was spared major damage. The cause of the collision was under investigation.
In a scene captured in multiple eyewitness videos, the masts could be seen snapping and partially collapsing as they crashed into the deck of the bridge. Videos showed heavy traffic on the span at the time of the collision.
The vessel, which was flying a giant green, white and red Mexican flag, then drifted toward the edge of the river as onlookers scrambled away from shore. Sailors could be seen aloft in the rigging on the damaged masts.
Sydney Neidell and Lily Katz told The Associated Press they were sitting outside to watch the sunset when they saw the vessel strike the bridge and one of its masts snap. Looking closer, they saw someone dangling from high on the ship.
“We saw someone dangling, and I couldn't tell if it was just blurry or my eyes, and we were able to zoom in on our phone and there was someone dangling from the harness from the top for like at least like 15 minutes before they were able to rescue them,” Katz said.
They said they saw two people removed from the ship on stretchers onto smaller boats.
The Mexican navy said in a post on the social platform X that the Cuauhtemoc, an academy training vessel, was damaged in an accident with the Brooklyn Bridge that prevented it from continuing its voyage.
It added that the status of personnel and material was under review by naval and local authorities, which were providing assistance.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry said on X that its ambassador to the U.S. and officials from the Mexican consulate in New York were in contact with local authorities to provide assistance to “the affected cadets,” but it did not mention injuries.
The Brooklyn Bridge, which opened in 1883, has a nearly 1,600-foot (490-meter) main span supported by two masonry towers. More than 100,000 vehicles and an estimated 32,000 pedestrians cross every day, according to the city's transportation department, and its walkway is a major tourist attraction.
The Cuauhtemoc - about 297 feet long and 40 feet wide (90.5 meters long and 12 meters wide), according to the Mexican navy - sailed for the first time in 1982.
Each year it sets out at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets' training. This year it left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on April 6 with 277 people onboard, the navy said then.
The Mexican consulate said May 13 on X that the Cuauhtemoc, also called the “Ambassador and Knight of the Seas,” arrived that day and docked at pier 17. It invited people to visit through May 17.
The ship was scheduled to visit 22 ports in 15 nations, including Kingston, Jamaica; Havana, Cuba; Cozumel, Mexico; and New York.
It also had planned to go to Reykjavik, Iceland; Bordeaux, Saint Malo and Dunkirk, France; and Aberdeen, Scotland, among others, for a total of 254 days, 170 of them at sea.
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Bengaluru police debunks viral video claiming ‘zombie drug’; Here’s what they said ?
A viral video claiming the presence of “zombie drugs” in Bengaluru has been debunked following an investigation by the Bangalore City Police.
The video, which circulated widely on social media platforms, showed a man in a disoriented state and was shared with claims that a dangerous new drug had entered the city.
It was reportedly filmed near a college in the Bagalur area, where the individual was seen standing still with little response to his surroundings.
In a release, the police said the video had come to their notice, following which personnel from the Bagalur Police Station traced and secured the individual near Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology.
He was then subjected to a medical examination.
According to the police, medical reports showed that no known narcotic or psychotropic substances were detected.
The police said the individual is suffering from arthritis and had consumed prescribed pain medication along with alcohol, which led to his disoriented condition as seen in the video.
Further inquiry found that the individual had come to Bengaluru in search of livelihood and has been residing in the city for the past three months. Further investigation is ongoing.
The police urged the public not to share unverified or misleading information on social media, stating that such content can create unnecessary panic and harm individuals’ reputation.
They also warned that strict action would be taken against those spreading false information or rumours.
