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The crash happened at around 8:26 p.m., when the ship — which had just departed from Pier 17 — suffered a mechanical failure, according to the NYPD.
“A preliminary investigation by the NYPD Special Operations Division, FDNY, US Coast Guard, and the NYC Department of Transportation revealed that a naval vessel… experienced a mechanical malfunction,” police said in a statement.
“The masts of the vessel then collided with the structure of the Brooklyn Bridge.” The ship had 277 people onboard, police said.
Nineteen were hurt in the collision. EMS brought them to NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and New York-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital. Two people are in critical condition. Two were pronounced dead. They have since been identified. Click here to read our full report.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating. The vessel was identified by NYC officials as a Mexican Navy ship.
Throngs of people watched helplessly in shock as the bridge took down the masts one by one.
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