A New York-based harbor pilot was operating the Mexican navy ship that crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge over the weekend, officials said Tuesday. "The ship must be controlled by a specialized harbor pilot from the New York government," Admiral Raymundo Pedro Morales Ángeles said at a press conference, per the Guardian. He noted the individual had as little as 80 to 90 seconds to react after the ship apparently lost power and struck the bridge around 8:30pm Saturday, snapping all three of its masts. Two crew members aboard died.
They were identified as América Sánchez, 20, from Veracruz, and Adal Jair Maldonado, 23, from Oaxaca. Sanchez, a cadet with a year left until graduation, had been standing on top of the rigging at the time of the crash, per the BBC. "She was a warrior, a soldier who didn't give up, who always fought for her goals," her mother tells the outlet. Sánchez aspired to become a naval engineer, while Maldonado intended to follow in his father's footsteps and become a sailor.
Another 22 of the 277 crew members on board were injured, three critically. The ship—ARM Cuauhtémoc, also known as the "Knight of the Seas"—was on a 254-day global goodwill tour, which began with an April 6 departure from Acapulco. After five days docked in New York City, the ship was to set off for Iceland. Instead, police say the 157-foot-tall ship lost power and was pulled by current toward the 134.5-foot-tall Brooklyn Bridge. The National Transportation Safety Board hasn't confirmed that account. "We will not be drawing any conclusions" until an investigation is complete, a rep said Monday, per the BBC. (More Brooklyn Bridge stories.)
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