Low visibility due to dust clouds likely contributed to Exercise Wallaby accident: Ng Eng Hen
A Singapore Army Hunter armoured fighting vehicle in the Shoalwater Bay Training Area during Exercise Wallaby 2024
SINGAPORE – The collision between two Hunter armoured fighting vehicles during a training exercise in Australia was likely due to low visibility from dust clouds formed by the moving vehicles, said Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen on Oct 15.
He was responding to Workers’ Party MP Dennis Tan (Hougang) about the cause of the collision on Sept 24, which occurred during Exercise Wallaby at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area in Queensland, Australia.
Twelve Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) soldiers were sent to the nearest medical facility and assessed to have suffered mild injuries in the collision.
None required hospitalisation, and they were well enough to rejoin their units for training the next day, said Dr Ng in a written parliamentary reply.
He said the SAF called for a safety pause immediately following the incident, after which a preliminary on-site investigation found that low visibility due to the dust clouds formed during movement of the Hunter armoured vehicles likely contributed to the collision.
Dr Ng also revealed that the soldiers on board the vehicles had followed safety protocols including the use of seat belts and protective gear, and consequently suffered only mild or no injuries at all.
“After the safety time-out, all drivers were reminded to maintain the requisite safety distances when driving, especially when visibility was poor. Troops were also reminded to adhere to safety protocols, including the use of safety equipment.
“The incident and reminders were further shared with participants of subsequent phases of the exercise and other units in Singapore through safety briefs,” he added.
The Army has also convened a formal investigation into the incident, in accordance with the SAF’s safety incident protocols.
Upon completion of the investigation, further lessons learnt and recommendations made will be implemented as appropriate, Dr Ng said.
Exercise Wallaby 2024 is on from Sept 8 to Nov 3 and involves 6,200 SAF servicemen.
It is SAF’s largest overseas unilateral exercise, and the training area is four times the size of Singapore.
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