Vigil held to remember naval cadets killed after Mexican ship crashes into Brooklyn Bridge
DUMBO, Brooklyn (WABC) -- As the mystery continues into what caused a Mexican ship to crash into the Brooklyn Bridge, a vigil was held Wednesday night to remember the naval cadets who died.
Huddled in the cold spring rain under the Brooklyn Bridge to salute the two fallen cadets just across the river from the docked ship, members of the city's Mexican community clutched umbrellas and white carnations while singing along to traditional songs of loss.
The city's top official of Mexican descent, Immigration Affairs Commissioner Manuel Castro, described a proud and joyful moment meeting the cadets aboard the visiting Cuautemoc before the accident, answering their questions about New York.
"These are moments you realize how precious life is," New York City Mayor Eric Adams said.
The mayor and other city leaders on Wednesday night supported a community supporting those mourning back in Mexico. The crowd burst into chants for the cadets and their home country.
On Monday, 20-year-old cadet América Yamilet Sánchez was laid to rest in Veracruz.
An emotional funeral was also held for 23-year-old cadet Adal Jair Maldonado Marcos. Both were killed when the Cuautemoc somehow accelerated in reverse and crashed into the bridge Saturday night.
The NTSB has begun its meticulous investigation, without speculating as to how it happened or who or what was to blame.
Jessica Rodriguez, who has a family member in Mexico's Naval Academy, says right now, there's a sense of unity through the good and the bad.
Even on a grey day like Wednesday, the Mexican community is holding true to a tradition of honoring the memory of those lost.
Rodriguez says people live as long as "we" remember them.
On Wednesday night, from the city's Office of Emergency Management, there was some good news about the injured cadets.
All 19 of them are out of the hospital now, and safely back in Mexico.
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