Just before 8:30 p.m., the Mexican Navy tall ship Cuauhtémoc collided with the expanse of the Brooklyn Bridge near the Brooklyn end while on a training cruise just west of the bridge. The sailboat’s 147-foot masts hit the road deck of the bridge — which has a maximum clearance of 135 feet. In video footage of the collision, the two masts could be seen snapping and falling as the ship moved backward under the bridge.
An NYPD official who spoke with NBC New York said that the ship had lost steering power and was pulled under the bridge by the current of the East River.
A search and rescue operation was launched immediately to assist. The ship remains afloat after the crash.
