SINGAPORE — All the Singapore Management University (SMU) students who were involved in an accident in Vietnam during a school trip have returned home.

The university said in a statement on Tuesday (May 14) evening that two were flown back on Monday evening and are receiving treatment at a hospital for a neck injury and a leg fracture respectively.

One other student who had a hip fracture and another with a leg fracture were back on Tuesday morning.

All four were flown back by air ambulance and are in stable condition, the university said.

Except for a Vietnamese student who returned home accompanied by his parents, the rest flew back to Singapore on a commercial flight on Tuesday afternoon, including 15 who were in the bus accident and had sustained injuries. Seven others were not hurt.

The group of 30 students in total were on a recreational programme in Vietnam after completing a community service project there called Project Phoniksa. The project was launched by the SMU Rotaract Club a few years back.

On Saturday, a bus ferrying 20 of them hit a road kerb, jolting them off their seats and causing them to sustain bruises and abrasions. They were in Hue, a city in central Vietnam. The injured were treated at the International Hospital Hue Central.

Vietnamese media reported that the accident occurred after the group had visited the Bach Ma National Park. The bus they were in was descending Bach Ma Mountain when it crashed into the mountainside at around 3pm, reports said.

At the airport back in Singapore on Tuesday afternoon, the group was received by SMU provost Timothy Clark, university staff members, counsellors and medical doctors.

This was to “reassure them that the university teams will continue to provide them with all possible support and assistance”, SMU said.

“We understand that the authorities (in Vietnam) have not concluded their investigation into this road accident and await the official investigation report,” it added.

SMU has reached out to all other student groups travelling out of the country, to “reiterate and remind them of the importance of adhering to safety protocols while they are abroad”.

The university added that it will review safety procedures “at an appropriate juncture” to see if there are “areas that can be further refined”.

“Our focus now is to help all our students get the appropriate treatment, care and rest, so that they can be on the road to recovery,” it said.

“We take this opportunity to thank all the medical doctors and staff, and representatives from the Embassy of Singapore in Vietnam for their professionalism and support that has allowed everyone to return safely.  

“We would also like to acknowledge the resilience and camaraderie of our students during this difficult time.”