Singaporean victims of fatal camper van crash in New Zealand were all NUS students

SINGAPORE: The National University of Singapore (NUS) has confirmed that the three Singaporeans who died in a camper van crash in New Zealand on April 17 were NUS students.

Sharing that it is “deeply saddened” by the unfortunate accident, the university has expressed its deepest condolences to the families of the victims and offered them all possible help and support.

Although the crash happened last month, the identity of the victims only came to light after the New Zealand Herald reported yesterday (May 9) that three Singaporeans died in the collision. New Zealand police have confirmed to the press that the three young victims were all from Singapore.

The three victims have been identified as Sherwin Chong Shi Yun and Xinyue Yang, both 21, and Jia Jun Vincent Lim, 24.

The trio were killed when the camper van they were in caught fire after the vehicle crashed into a barrier at a motorway junction near the South Island town of Geraldine at about 1 am on April 17.

Eleven volunteer firefighters arrived at the scene that morning and met the following evening to report on the crash and receive individual counselling through Fire and Ambulance New Zealand.

Chief Graeme Mould of the Volunteer Fire Brigade said it was one of the “toughest” jobs he’d ever been on. “This (crash) is a shocking event. None of us have experienced an accident of this magnitude in recent times.”

He said that over the past year, there have been more vehicles and heavy traffic on this section of the expressway, which has increased the risk of accidents.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation.