MEXICO CITY, May 20, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Crew members of a Mexican navy sailing ship that crashed into New York's iconic Brooklyn Bridge arrived back home on Monday as authorities investigated the cause of the accident.

Two sailors were killed and around 20 injured in Saturday's collision, which snapped the masts of the Cuauhtemoc, a naval cadet training ship which visits foreign ports on goodwill voyages.

The Navy said that 172 cadets, several officers and a captain flew home.

"Two cadets who remain in New York are receiving specialized medical care and are in stable condition," it said.

Numerous sailors were positioned among the vessel rigging at the time of the crash.

The Navy was investigating the cause, "whether it was mechanical, the towing or human error," Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said that it was also probing the collision.

A preliminary report is expected within 30 days, NTSB member Michael Graham told a press conference, adding that a full investigation usually takes between one and two years.

"This is the start of a long process," he said, adding that investigators hoped to speak to the crew members that stayed in New York to work on the ship.

Surveys showed that there was "no significant structural damage to the load-bearing elements of the bridge," Graham said.

Cuauhtemoc had begun a seven-month voyage in April from its base in the Pacific coastal city of Acapulco.

The vessel had been departing New York at the time of the accident with flags fluttering in its rigging and an enormous Mexican flag waved off its stern.

It was the second deadly ship collision with a US bridge in little over a year.

In March 2024, a cargo vessel smashed into a major bridge in Baltimore, causing it to collapse and killing six road workers.