Cuauhtémoc navy ship accidental death!
New York City, May 21 (EFE).-
Hundreds of Mexicans gathered for a vigil in New York City on Wednesday for the victims of the weekend’s Cuauhtémoc navy ship accident, which killed two cadets and injured around 22 when it crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge.
Over two hours in the rain near the accident site, several hundred people waved small Mexican flags and laid wreaths during the event where photos of América Sánchez, 20, and Adal Jair Maldonado Marcos, 23, on a giant banner were displayed.
Chants of: “The Cuauhtémoc will return stronger to sail these waters (…) Long live Mexico and long live the sailors,” could be heard.
The vigil was organized by the New York Academia de Mariachi Nuevo Amanecer and attended by Mayor of New York Eric Adams, the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs Commissioner Manuel Castro and Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodríguez.
Ship to return to Mexico
The training ship Cuauhtémoc will resume its voyage “as soon as it is repaired” and will return to Mexico in November as planned, said acting Mexican consul in New York, Joaquín Gerardo Pastrana Uranga.
He recalled “with great sadness” that the consulate had been preparing to receive the ship because it was “a gift to the Mexican community” in New York, as it represented “encouragement and brought a message of goodwill” in difficult times.
After the religious service, which included a moment of silence and the reading of passages from the Bible, several mariachi groups paid tribute to the cadets with popular songs such as “México lindo” and “Amor eterno.”
The incident, which left 22 cadets injured, two of whom are still in a hospital in New York and the rest who returned to their countries, occurred as the ship, with 277 people on board, was setting sail for Iceland after a visit to the city, which began on May 13 as part of its public diplomacy and naval training mission.
Mexican authorities said Tuesday morning that a New York port pilot had been maneuvering the Cuauhtémoc at the time of the accident, but the results of the investigation by US port authorities will take 30 days. EFE
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