By Nouran Salahieh, Michelle Watson, Hanna Park, Alex Stambaugh, Gloria Pazmino, Chris Boyette

(CNN) — At least two people were killed and about 20 injured when a Mexican Navy training ship on a global goodwill tour struck the underside of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York Saturday night, officials said.

There were 277 people on the sailing ship, called the Cuauhtémoc, at the time of the incident and everyone is believed to be accounted for, officials said Saturday.

Dramatic video shows Cuauhtémoc’s masts hitting the underside of the bridge and breaking as the vessel passes underneath, with pieces falling down toward the deck.

Here’s what we know:

What happened

The incident occurred around 8:20 p.m. local time as the ship was departing from New York’s Pier 17, where it had been docked at the South Street Seaport Museum for five days of public viewing.

The ship’s masts – bedecked in lights - struck the bridge, breaking on impact and sending debris falling onto the vessel’s deck.

But the Cuauhtémoc was never supposed to approach the Brooklyn Bridge – it was moving in the “wrong direction,” a senior city official with knowledge of the investigation told CNN.

As it made its way out of the harbor, it was supposed to make a stop at a Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, fueling dock before heading out to sea on its way to Iceland, the official said.

“It was the current that took it under the bridge,” the person said. “It wasn’t supposed to be headed in that direction.”

Officials from different city agencies were meeting Sunday morning to determine the next steps in the response and the investigation.

According to the senior official, Cuauhtémoc’s captain has told investigators he lost steering of the vessel after the rudder stopped working.

“They had some sort of mechanical issue, they lost power, so without being able to use the rudder, they could not steer,” the official said, cautioning all information is preliminary and subject to change.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams previously said the ship lost power. City officials earlier said “mechanical issues” may have caused the incident.

The New York Fire Department said in an email to CNN it received the call that a ship had struck the bridge around 8:39 p.m. More than 100 fire and emergency medical service personnel responded to the scene, NYFD said in its email.

Video of the Mexican Navy training ship shortly after it struck the Brooklyn Bridge showed people hanging from at least one of its masts. On tall ships like the Cuauhtémoc, it is a ceremonial tradition for sailors to climb the masts and rigging when departing or arriving in harbor.

“We could see some people being kind of dragged,” an eyewitness, Flavio Moreira, told CNN. “I believe it was some of the staff, they were on the top of the boat. And they were swinging around, back and forth as soon as the ship hit the bridge.”

Multiple killed

Two people were killed and two remain in critical condition, Adams said. The two who died fell from one of the ship’s masts, the law enforcement official told CNN. They were pronounced dead after being taken to a nearby hospital, the official said.

“At this time, of the 277 on board, 19 sustained injuries, 2 of which remain in critical condition, and 2 more have sadly passed away from their injuries,” Adams wrote on X.

The Mexican Navy said earlier a total of 22 people were injured, 19 of whom were taken to hospitals.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the two people killed were crew members and sent her condolences to their families.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of two crew members of the Cuauhtémoc Training Ship, who lost their lives in the unfortunate accident in New York Harbor. Our sympathy and support go out to their families,” Sheinbaum said in a post on X early Sunday.

Sheinbaum said the Mexican Navy is supporting those injured in the incident, and that the Mexican ambassador to the United States and Mexican Consulate General were supporting the navy.

The city’s Office of the Medical Examiner is working to repatriate the bodies of the two victims, the senior city official said.

The Cuauhtémoc’s crew spent the night on the ship, the official said. Now, city officials are working to get them off the ship and home to Mexico, the person said.

An investigation underway

The ship appeared to lose power around 8:20 p.m. as the captain was maneuvering the ship, which forced the vessel toward the bridge’s pillar and the ship’s mast struck the bridge, New York Police Department Chief Wilson Aramboles said at a news conference Saturday.

The city is also investigating the role of a tug boat that can be seen in video appearing to lead the Cuauhtémoc through the river, according to the senior city official.

The National Transportation Safety Board is conducting an investigation and sending a “go-team” to New York, according to a post Sunday by the agency’s X account.

Mexican authorities described the Cuauhtémoc ship as a steel-hulled three-masted barque with a length of around 300 feet and a height of roughly 160 feet, a 2024 news release from one of its training cruises said.

Government documents show the Brooklyn Bridge has a navigational clearance of 127 feet, roughly 30 feet shorter than the height of the sailing ship.

There was no visible damage to the Brooklyn Bridge, which appeared to be left structurally intact.

“While inspections will remain ongoing, there are no signs of structural damage to the Brooklyn Bridge,” NY Department of Transportation said in a post on X.

Traffic was temporarily closed in both directions for about 40 minutes as emergency services responded to the scene. It was later reopened following a preliminary inspection, Adams said.

The voyage data recorder from the Cuauhtémoc will likely provide investigators with information about both the ship’s mechanics, including any “control input,” and when power may have been lost, according to Mary Schiavo, CNN transportation analyst and former US Department of Transportation inspector general. It may also provide information about the river itself, such as the water’s depth and its currents.

Investigators may already have that information and be in the process of reviewing it, Schiavo said. They will also need to examine whether communication was lost at any point, she added.

This ship has been moved to Manhattan’s Pier 36, located along the East River less than a mile from the Brooklyn Bridge, according to the law enforcement official.

The senior official said city divers are expected to go into the water today to inspect the rudder to determine if the ship can be moved.

What do we know about the ship?

The Cuauhtémoc is a training sailing ship of the Mexican Navy and is described by officials as a diplomatic symbol of Mexico abroad.

Known as the “Ambassador and Knight of the Seas,” the ship was in New York as part of a global goodwill tour and was en route to Iceland at the time of the incident.

A spokesperson for the New York City-area Sail4th 250 events told CNN that the Cuauhtémoc ship had “welcomed dignitaries and media” as part of its New York stop on its global tour.

The sailing ship was expected to join the parade of international tall ships to celebrate the United States’s 250th anniversary on July 4, 2026 – in what the event is calling “the largest-ever flotilla of tall ships from around the world.”

Built in Spain in 1981, the ship was acquired by the Mexican Navy to train cadets and officers. It regularly takes part in major regattas around the world. According to a news release from one of its global cruises, it was used for training by the Heroic Naval Military School, an elite military academy in Mexico.

The ship, as of last year, had visited 212 ports in 64 countries with 756,085 nautical miles sailed, the latter equivalent to making 35 trips around the world, the release said.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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