The Mexican navy tall ship that struck the Brooklyn Bridge had departed less than 5 minutes before its masts crashed into the historic span, according to a timeline laid out by investigators Monday.
Less than a minute before the Cuauhtemoc training vessel sped backward into the bridge on Saturday, a radio call went out asking for help from any additional tugboats in the area.
Brian Young, the National Transportation Safety Board’s chief investigator of the deadly crash, said the ship had reached 6 knots by the time is struck the bridge, which is roughly 6.9 mph (11.1 Kilometers per hour). The call asking for assistance from other nearby tugboats was made approximately 45 seconds before the crash.
Officials didn’t say where the call asking for assistance from other boats came from.
It also remains unclear whether a mechanical problem, weather or any other issues played a role. NTSB officials said they have not yet been granted permission to board the ship and they have not yet interviewed the captain or the tugboat and harbor pilots who were on the scene during Saturday’s crash.
“This is a start of a long process. We will not be drawing any conclusions. We will not speculate,” said NTSB Board Member Michael Graham.
Many crew members on the tall ship have flown home from New York, officials said Monday.
Seven officers and 172 cadets who were aboard the Cuauhtemoc arrived early Monday at the port of Veracruz, where Mexico’s naval school is, the Mexican navy said in a post on X. Two cadets remained in New York getting medical treatment. They were in stable condition, the navy said.
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 142-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.
Graham said the NTSB, which is investigating the cause of the crash, is unsure why police initially speculated the crash was possibly related to a mechanical problem. The ship was moving quickly 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.
During the safety board’s first media briefing on Monday, officials warned the investigation will take months. The crippled Cuauhtemoc remained at a dock in Manhattan.
The Brooklyn Bridge escaped major damage but at least 19 of the ship’s 277 sailors needed medical treatment, according to officials. Among those killed was América Yamilet Sánchez, a 20-year-old sailor who had been studying engineering at the Mexican naval academy. Her family has said she died after falling from one of the Cuauhtemoc’s masts.
The Cuauhtemoc arrived in New York on May 13 as part of a global goodwill tour. The vessel, which sailed for the first time in 1982, had been docked and welcoming visitors in recent days at the tourist-heavy South Street Seaport. It was next bound for Iceland.
The ship’s main mast has a height of 160 feet (50 meters), far too high for the span of the Brooklyn Bridge at any tide.
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Associated Press reporter Fabiola Sánchez in Mexico City contributed to this story.
