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Brooklyn Bridge ship crash victims identified, update expected from investigators

Federal investigators looking into the Mexican navy ship that crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge over the weekend are expected to provide an update Monday afternoon in New York City. 

We will stream that NTSB update at 3 p.m. live on CBS News New York. 

The National Transportation Safety Board started collecting evidence Sunday to piece together what happened. The Coast Guard helped move the ship to safety, but commercial water traffic remains suspended in the area. 

Meanwhile, people have been leaving flowers and candles at Pier 36 on the Lower East Side to pay tribute to the crew members. 

2 killed in Brooklyn Bridge ship crash

The damaged masts of the Cuauhtémoc, a Mexican Navy training ship that crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge, are seen as it sits docked at Pier 36 in lower Manhattan on May 18, 2025 in New York City. The ship, which snapped all three of its masts as it collided with the New York City landmark bridge, killed at least two people and injured dozens of others.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images


Witnesses said the crew wrapped up a ceremonial departure shortly before 8:30 p.m. Saturday at South Street Seaport. As the Cuauhtémoc ship took off for Iceland, it crashed into the bridge. 

Video showed all three masts snap off, leaving some crew members dangling from harnesses and holding onto wires. 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said on social media the ship lost power before the crash.   

The Mexican Navy training ship that hit the Brooklyn Bridge sits moored in lower Manhattan as seen from Brooklyn on May 18, 2025. Two people died and 19 others were injured after a Mexican Navy training ship hit the Brooklyn Bridge, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Sunday.

LEONARDO MUNOZ/AFP via Getty Images


Officials said 277 people were on board, two people were killed and 19 were injured. Authorities identified one victim as 20-year-old cadet América Yamilet Sánchez.

“I deeply regret the passing of Veracruz cadet América Yamilet Sánchez. My love, support, and solidarity go out to her family,” the governor of Veracruz, Rocio Nahle, wrote in Spanish on social media.

The second victim has been identified as Adal Jair Maldonado Marcos, according to Mexican authorities. 

Sanchez’s family members spoke out Sunday as they mourned their loss, holding on to photos of her and each other. Her aunt questioned why the Mexican navy hasn’t done more to bring the family to New York to recover her body. Another family member called the videos illogical, adding it should’ve never happened. 

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Trump White House fires Biden-appointed vice chair of NTSB

The vice chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, who was appointed to the post by President Joe Biden late last year, has been fired, a senior White House official confirmed to CBS News.

Alvin Brown’s ouster happened Tuesday. Brown, a Democrat who was the first African American elected mayor of Jacksonville, Florida, was appointed by Biden as the NTSB’s vice chair in December. Brown joined the five-person board earlier in 2024, being sworn in on the same day as Todd Inman, a Republican who was also appointed by Biden.

The NTSB is an independent agency with board members appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate to serve five-year terms. The president designates the chair and vice chair for three-year terms in those roles. The chair requires a separate Senate confirmation.

Brown’s firing comes amid other Trump administration dismissals of other Democratic members of independent agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission and National Labor Relations Board.

Alvin Brown attends an investigative hearing into the blowout of an exit door plug on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 in Washington, Aug. 6, 2024.

Bryan Olin Dozier/Anadolu via Getty Images


The move leaves the NTSB with four board members — Inman along with Chair Jennifer Homendy, Michael Graham and Thomas Chapman — who were all appointed by President Trump during his first term in office. Homendy was appointed as the board’s chair by Biden.

The NTSB investigates all fatal general aviation accidents, including commercial accidents and incidents, as well as significant accidents across the various modes of transportation as well as pipeline accidents. The board does not have regulatory authority. Instead, it determines the probable cause of those accidents and makes safety recommendations to avoid similar ones in the future.

The board is currently investigating a host of aviation accidents, including January’s deadly midair collision over Washington, D.C., multiple fatal small plane crashes and last year’s blowout of an Alaska Airlines door panel midflight.

The NTSB declined to comment, directing inquiries to the White House.

Brown’s departure was first reported by Reuters.

Gabrielle Ake

contributed to this report.

Kris Van Cleave


Emmy Award-winning journalist Kris Van Cleave is the senior transportation correspondent for CBS News based in Phoenix, Arizona, where he also serves as a national correspondent reporting for all CBS News broadcasts and platforms.

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