A total of 12 Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) servicemen sustained "non-serious injuries" after a Hunter Armoured Fighting Vehicle (AFV) rear-ended another during Exercise Wallaby in Queensland, Australia at around 7:40pm (Australia time) on Sep. 24.

The servicemen were conveyed to a hospital, and they are currently "being treated or recovering well", said the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) in a statement issued at 10:15pm (Singapore time) on Tuesday.

"The safety and well-being of our people is of paramount importance. The army has called for a safety pause to remind drivers to maintain proper distance. MINDEF/ SAF wish the servicemen a speedy recovery," the statement read.

Incident involved 'Australian & Singaporean tank'

According to MINDEF, at the time of the collision, the two vehicles were "moving back to base at Shoalwater Bay Training Area".

A Queensland Ambulance Service spokesperson said paramedics arrived at the scene at around 8:30pm (Australia time).

The injured personnel were airlifted by a military helicopter to Rockhampton Airport, and they were subsequently transported to a hospital by road ambulance.

Exercise Wallaby

Exercise Wallaby (XWB) is SAF's largest overseas unilateral exercise, according to a media fact sheet published by MINDEF on Sep. 22.

This year's exercise will span nine weeks from Sep. 8 to Nov. 3 and "will set a new training baseline overseas".

It involves around 6,200 personnel and approximately 490 platforms from the Singapore Army, the Republic of Singapore Air Force, and the Digital and Intelligence Service.

This year's exercise is also the first time AFV has participated in XWB.