Both victims who died on the Mexican navy tall ship Cuauhtémoc, which crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City on Saturday night, have been identified as cadets who fell to the ship’s deck after unbuckling their harnesses in an effort to try and get down, according to the NYPD.
On Sunday, Veracruz Gov. Rocío Nahle García identified one of the cadets as América Yamilet Sánchez of Xalapa in an X post Sunday.
“I deeply regret the passing of Veracruz cadet América Yamilet Sánchez,” the governor wrote in a translated post. “My love, support, and solidarity go out to her family. My gratitude to the @SEMAR_mx and my wishes for a speedy recovery for those injured. Veracruz is with you.”
Sánchez died when the ship, described as an academy training vessel, ran into the Brooklyn Bridge at about 8:20 p.m.
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Police sources confirmed with Fox News that the second victim was Adal Jair Marcos, who authorities added is also in his 20s.
Investigators told Fox Sánchez and Marcos were dangling hundreds of feet in the air as the ship was heading toward the bridge. The investigators added, the two unbuckled their harnesses to try and get down.
Sadly, the cadets fell to their deaths, landing on the ship deck.
The families of the victims are grieving and told Reuters at a memorial that they want answers as to why the ship crashed.
Investigators also told Fox the bodies of the cadets were sent back to Mexico on a plane on Monday.
The scene was captured on video by multiple eyewitnesses, showing the ship – which was flying a large Mexican flag – traveling swiftly in reverse toward the bridge near the Brooklyn side of the East River.
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As the bystanders continued to watch, the ship’s three masts struck the bridge’s span and snapped, one-by-one, as the tall ship continued to push onto the bridge.
Videos captured heavy traffic on the span at the time of the collision, though nobody on the bridge was reported injured.
Sailors could be seen aloft in the rigging of the damaged masts, though remarkably, officials noted, nobody fell into the water.
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said Sunday in a post on X that he was fighting for answers about whether President Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency had impacted water traffic control.
“We know they’ve been meddling with U.S. Coast Guard staffing,” Schumer said. “Trump relieved Admiral Linda Fagan as Commandant of the USCG, and that position is still vacant. And the hiring freeze has limited the ability for the USCG to staff up the Vehicle Traffic Service, that’s their traffic control operation that acts like Air Traffic Control but on water. We need action for our national security, infrastructure protection, and public safety.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responded to Schumer’s accusations that a hiring freeze led to inadequate staffing of the Coast Guard’s Vessel Traffic Services, calling them “FALSE.”
“The US Coast Guard has been fully supported and been exempt from hiring freezes. Additionally, this incident had nothing to do with Vessel Traffic Services— when a ship loses propulsion in a high current area, the vessel needs to engage all capabilities to stop and ideally tugs are nearby to support,” DHS said in a post on X. “We encourage Minority Leader Schumer to get his facts straight before he misleads the American people.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum called the tragedy an accident in a video shared by El Universal, a Mexican publication.
“We regret that this is being used politically because it was an accident,” Sheinbaum said while speaking with reporters from inside a vehicle on Sunday.
New York City’s deputy mayor of public safety, Kaz Daughtry, echoed Sheinbaum by calling the incident an “accident,” in an exclusive interview with Fox News.
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“This seems to be a complete accident,” Daughtry said. “However, we’re going to let the investigators determine what caused…this mechanical malfunction, whether it be with the propulsion system, with the power system…”
He continued, saying the cause was something the engineers would have to determine because it was a naval vessel that city officials do not have responsibility over, or even the ability to board.
Daughtry added that federal authorities will work with the Mexican government to determine who will take the lead on the investigation, whether that is the National Transportation and Safety Board or the Mexican equivalent of the NTSB.
The Cuauhtémoc – about 297 feet long and 40 feet wide, according to the Mexican navy – sailed for the first time in 1982. The vessel’s main mast has a height of 160 feet, according to the Mexican government. Each year, the Cuauhtémoc 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, according to the Mexican navy.
It arrived in New York City on May 13, when visitors were welcome for several days, the Mexican consulate said. The ship was scheduled to visit 22 ports in 15 nations over 254 days, 170 of them at sea.
It is unclear what caused the ship to veer off course, and investigations are being conducted by several agencies, including the National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB).
The Brooklyn Bridge, which opened in 1883, has a nearly 1,600-foot 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. Its walkway is a major tourist attraction.
Traffic was halted after the collision but was allowed to resume after an inspection, city officials said.
As midnight approached, the broken ship was moved slowly up the East River, going under and past the Manhattan Bridge, aided by a series of tugboats, before docking at a pier.
Fox News’ CB Cotton and Danielle Wallace, as well as The Associated Press, contributed to this report.
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