Brooklyn Bridge updates: Mexico mourns, seeks answers after ship's deadly crash

Mexicans mourned the deaths of two sailors while authorities in Mexico and New York worked to unravel the mystery of the tragic crash of the Cuauhtémoc Training Ship into the Brooklyn Bridge.

In Mexico, the bodies of Cadet América Yamilet Sánchez and Seaman Adal Jair Marco arrived in Veracruz on May 19, two days after the crash. Family members, escorted by Mexican Navy personnel, joined a procession to the Heroic Military Naval School for the memorial ceremony, El Universal reported.

Rodolfo Hernández, Sánchez’s uncle, told the Mexico News Daily that his niece had sent photos of herself in Central Park the day before the crash.

“When news of her death came, we broke down," Hernández said. "We didn’t have the strength to bear it."

A total of 277 people were aboard the Cuauhtémoc, named after the last Aztec emperor. The tall ship, also known as “The Knight of the Seas," set sail April 6 from Acapulco on a 254-day mission to “exalt the seafaring spirit, strengthen naval education and carry the Mexican people’s message of peace and goodwill."

Mexican media have stressed that the ship's captain had a local harbor pilot, familiar with the waters, on board to help guide it into open water.

The ship was docked in New York for five days as part of a goodwill tour. It was leaving from Lower Manhattan shortly after sunset, the glowing bulbs strung from its mast providing a shimmering light show on the East River. The planned route was southward, away from the bridge and bound for Iceland. 

Crew members dangled from mast crossbeams

The ship cleared the dock but moved in reverse toward the bridge, authorities say. Scores of New Yorkers and tourists watched in horror as the masts slammed into the bridge and crumbled onto the boat. Members of the ship's crew could be seen dangling from the ship's crossbeams.

The 142-year-old bridge suffered no serious damage. While videos of the crash quickly swept across social media, more than two dozen people were taken off the boat for medical treatment.

The commander of the Mexican Navy, Admiral Raymundo Pedro Morales Ángeles, said the uninjured cadets would continue training and that the investigation would be carried out “with total transparency and responsibility.”

Probe centers on engine, tugboat

The National Transportation Safety Board investigator Brian Young said the probe could center on the ship's engine. The role of a tugboat that aided the Cuauhtémoc in backing out of its pier was also being reviewed, Young said.

"We will look at the status of the engine, we will look for any failures, we will look for engine inspections and we'll talk to the crew on what may have possibly happened with the engine," Young said at a NTSB briefing May 19.