Federal transportation officials have launched an investigation into why a Mexican navy tall ship hit the Brooklyn Bridge in a collision that snapped the vessel's three masts, killed two crew members and left some sailors dangling from harnesses high in the air.
The ship, known as the Cuauhtemoc, was visiting New York on a global goodwill tour when the accident occurred Saturday evening. The vessel could be seen in multiple eyewitness videos traveling swiftly in reverse toward the bridge near the Brooklyn side of the East River. Then its three masts struck the bridge and snapped, one by one, as the ship kept moving.
