Bus with 33 S'pore tourists collides with truck in Hokkaido, drivers killed

SINGAPORE - A bus carrying 33 tourists from Singapore collided with a truck in Hokkaido, Japan, on Thursday morning, according to reports.

The Straits Times reported that the bus was involved in a head-on collision with the truck, and that both drivers were killed.

14 people were injured, including one hurt seriously, ST quoted Kyodo News as saying. All the injured have been sent to hospital, the report said.

The collision happened at about 9.40am Japan time (8.40am Singapore time), near the popular tourist spot of Onuma, near the city of Hakodate in southern Hokkaido. The bus was heading to the city of Sapporo.

Yomiuri Shinbum reported that the bus collided with the two-tonne truck on National Route 5, a major highway.

A spokesman from Singapore travel agent Hong Thai Travel Services, which handled the tour, has said that several Singaporeans suffered sprains, but none sustained major injuries, Channel NewsAsia reported.

ST quoted an eye-witness as saying that the bus was trying to avoid the truck, which had veered into the opposite lane.

sinsh@sph.com.sg