Onlookers enjoying a balmy spring evening watched in horror as the ship, with its sails furled and bright lights draped in its rigging, glided backwards beneath the bridge, the masts then breaking and crashing into the East River.

According to multiple US media reports, around 200 people were on board the Cuauhtemoc, a barque built in 1982 with a mast height of 48.2 meters (158 feet), at the time.

Some reports suggested that sailors had been in the rigging as the ship slammed into the bridge, and witnesses told The New York Post they saw people plummeting into the water.

The Cuauhtemoc had been on a training maneouver at the time and was damaged in the "mishap," the Mexican Navy said on X, adding that the condition of those on board was "under review" by local authorities.

"The Ministry of the Navy reaffirms its commitment to the safety of its personnel, transparency in its operations and excellence in the training of future officers of the Mexican Navy," it said.