NTSB launching investigation into deadly tall ship crash into Brooklyn Bridge

NEW YORK AP A great number of crew members on the Mexican navy tall ship that suffered a deadly collision with the Brooklyn Bridge have flown home from New York agents disclosed Monday Seven officers and cadets who were aboard the Cuauhtemoc training vessel arrived early Monday at the port of Veracruz where Mexico s naval school is the Mexican navy noted in a post on X Two cadets remained in New York getting curative recovery They were in stable condition the navy announced Two members of the Cuauhtemoc s crew suffered fatal injuries Saturday when the ship s tall masts struck the Brooklyn Bridge s main span after the ship departed a Manhattan dock where it had been open to visitors for several days Footage of the collision shot by horrified onlookers show the ship moving swiftly backwards and then grinding beneath the -year-old bridge as its topmasts snapped off Multiple cadets in the ship s crew were aloft standing on the ship s yards when the collision happened Several were left dangling by safety harnesses as the masts partially collapsed The U S National Transportation Safety Board was examining the cause of the crash which police reported was possibly related to a mechanical concern The ship was moving hastily under motor power in the opposite of its intended direction when the collision happened A tugboat that had helped the ship get out of its berth could be seen on video trying to get ahead of the vessel as it headed toward the bridge but couldn t overtake it in time The safety board planned to hold its first media briefing later Monday The review is likely to take months The crippled Cuauhtemoc remained at a dock in Manhattan The Brooklyn Bridge escaped major damage but at least of the ship s sailors needed physiological remedy according to officers Among those killed was Am rica Yamilet S nchez a -year-old sailor who had been studying engineering at the Mexican naval academy Her family has announced she died after falling from one of the Cuauhtemoc s masts The Cuauhtemoc arrived in New York on May as part of a global goodwill tour The vessel which sailed for the first time in had been docked and welcoming visitors in newest days at the tourist-heavy South Street Seaport It was next bound for Iceland The ship s main mast has a height of feet meters far too high for the span of the Brooklyn Bridge at any tide