A second later: “Oh sht!” as the boat slams into the structure with a sickening crunch, snapping all three masts and raining wreckage onto the deck below.
“I thought it was maybe some sort of a terrorist attack,” said Aaron Travis, a Texas tourist who witnessed the crash.
“People were screaming, sailors dangling from ropes. Total chaos,” another eyewitness recalled.
⚓ Tradition Turns Tragic: ‘Manning the Yards’ Ends in Horror
At the time of the crash, sailors aboard the Cuauhtémoc were participating in a ceremonial maritime tradition called “manning the yards”.
Where naval personnel stand on the ship’s masts in honor as it enters port.
