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20 SMU students taken to hospital in Vietnam after bus hit kerb

SINGAPORE — A group of 20 Singapore Management University (SMU) students on a community service project in Vietnam were taken to hospital after sustaining injuries when the bus they were travelling on hit a road kerb.

SMU said that the affected students were part of a group of 30 who were on a recreational programme after completing an overseas community service project, called Project Phoniksa.

SMU said that the affected students were part of a group of 30 who were on a recreational programme after completing an overseas community service project, called Project Phoniksa.

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SINGAPORE — A group of 20 Singapore Management University (SMU) students on a community service project in Vietnam were taken to hospital after sustaining injuries when the bus they were travelling on hit a road kerb.

The university said in a media statement on Monday (May 13) that the incident happened on Saturday afternoon in Hue, a city in central Vietnam.

The students were jolted off their seats, causing them to sustain bruises and abrasions.

One student had a leg fracture while another sustained a neck injury. Both will be flown back to Singapore via air ambulance once they are certified fit for air travel.

SMU said that the affected students were part of a group of 30 who were on a recreational programme after completing an overseas community service project, called Project Phoniksa.

All 30 students, including the 10 who were in another bus, were taken to the International Hospital Hue Central.

Vietnamese media reported that the incident occurred after the group had visited the Bach Ma National Park.

The bus the students were on was descending Bach Ma Mountain when it “crashed into the mountainside” at around 3pm, reports said.

Vietnamese online newspaper VNExpress quoted Pham Nhu Hiep, the director of the International Hospital Hue Central, as saying that one of the victims had suffered a spinal cord injury, one had a dislocated groin, one had a broken leg and another a radius fracture.

It added that the front of the bus was badly damaged.

SMU said that it activated International SOS when it was first alerted to the incident. International SOS began rendering support on the ground on Saturday evening.

Two SMU staff members, accompanied by a medical team from International SOS, flew to Vietnam on Sunday morning to assist the students, said the university.

The officers from the Embassy of Singapore in Vietnam were in Hue to liaise with the local authorities and render consular assistance to the injured Singaporeans.

Three students who are not injured have returned to Singapore on Sunday evening via their originally scheduled flight, while the rest decided to extend their stay in Vietnam to help and support their peers, SMU said.

“The well-being of our students is our top priority,” the university said in the statement.

“We will continue to stay in regular contact with our students to monitor their situation. Their safety remains the university’s top priority, and we will provide the best possible assistance to them accordingly.”

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SMU students accident Vietnam

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