Poor visibility due to dust clouds, a likely factor in an armored vehicle collision from Exercise Wallaby: Ng Eng Hen

SINGAPORE: The collision between two Hunter armored fighting vehicles during Exercise Wallaby last month may have been due to poor visibility due to dust clouds formed during the armored vehicles’ movement.

“Preliminary on-site checks revealed that poor visibility due to the dust clouds formed during the movement of the Hunter armored vehicles was the likely contributing factor,” Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said in a written parliamentary response on Tuesday.

He responded to questions from MP Dennis Tan (WP-Hougang) about the cause of the accident and whether there are lessons to be learned to improve training safety.

Twelve Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) soldiers were injured after the clash in Queensland, Australia on September 24. They rejoined their unit after receiving medical care for their “non-serious” injuries, the Singapore military said.

Dr. Ng said troops aboard the two Hunter vehicles during Exercise Wallaby had adhered to safety protocols, including the use of seat belts and protective equipment.

“After the safety timeout, all drivers were reminded to maintain required safety distances while driving, especially when visibility was poor,” added Dr. Ng added, repeating a point made by the military last month.

Soldiers were also reminded to adhere to safety protocols, including the use of safety equipment.

“The incident and memories were further shared with participants in the next phases of the exercise and other units in Singapore through safety briefings,” he said.

Dr. Ng added that the military has begun a formal investigation into the incident in accordance with SAF protocol.

“Following the completion of the investigation, further lessons will be learned and recommendations made, as appropriate.”