AFP – A training mishap during military drills in Australia ended with 12 Singaporean soldiers in hospital, according to Singapore’s defence ministry, which blamed the incident on an armoured vehicle that “rear-ended” another.
Thousands of Singaporean troops have been dispatched to Australia for Exercise Wallaby, one of the city-state’s largest overseas training exercises.
Singapore’s Ministry of Defence said a Hunter armoured fighting vehicle had “rear-ended another while moving back to base” at Australia’s Shoalwater Bay training facility on Tuesday night.
The ministry said 12 “servicemen sustained non-serious injuries and they have been transported to the hospital”.
“They are currently being treated or recovering well.”
Singapore’s army called for a “safety pause” so that it could “remind drivers to maintain proper distance”.
The unilateral war games take place under a longstanding agreement between Australia and Singapore, which lacks the landmass to train its military at scale.
