Twelve army personnel from the Singapore Armed Forces have been injured in a freak accident when two tanks collided during a military exercise. No Australian Defence Force personnel were injured.
According to a statement issued by a Singapore Defence spokesperson at approximately 7.40 p.m., a Hunter Armoured Fighting Vehicle rear-ended another while returning to base at Shoalwater Bay Training Area in Queensland, Australia.
“Twelve SAF servicemen sustained non-serious injuries, and they have been transported to the hospital. They are currently being treated or recovering well.”
Singaporean and Australian armed forces have been conducting joint operations at the Shoalwater Bay training area as part of Exercise Wallaby. Around 6,200 personnel, 490 vehicles, and other machinery will train until Nov. 3.
This year marks the 34th anniversary of Exercise Wallaby, which began in 1990.
The spokesperson added that, following the incident, the Army ordered a safety pause to remind drivers of maintaining proper distances when operating vehicles.
“The safety and well-being of our people is of paramount importance.”
A Queensland Ambulance spokesperson stated that paramedics were called to Rockhampton Airport just before 8.30 p.m. after multiple patients were airlifted by a military Chinook helicopter.
The spokesperson said that 10 of the 12 injured were rushed to Rockhampton Hospital. However, they were in stable condition with minor injuries.
“We are aware another military helicopter transported a patient with more serious injuries to Rockhampton Hospital from the initial scene,” the spokesperson told AAP.
In a similar incident during the 2017 Exercise Wallaby, a vehicle malfunction injured three SAF personnel, raising concerns over equipment safety.
Meanwhile, a study by the National Library of Medicine on military recruits during basic training found that 31.9 percent of recruits were injured over a 9-week period, with 86.4 percent of these being overuse injuries.
Heavy marching was identified as a key cause of these injuries, accounting for more than 77 percent of training time.
