Five Singapore Airlines (SIA) crew members were involved in a car crash in New Zealand yesterday morning which left one of them in critical condition and another seriously injured.
All five were taken to Christchurch Public Hospital for treatment.
Chief steward Chew Weng Wai and stewardess Vanessa Coehlo suffered serious injuries.
A hospital spokesman said: "The male patient is in a critical condition in intensive care and the female is comfortable in a general ward."
The accident occurred at 10.40am local time in Rolleston, a town on the outskirts of Christchurch.
Area commander of the New Zealand Fire Service Dave Berry told reporters: "A four-wheel-drive carrying a horse float (trailer) collided with a vehicle with five people on board. Two people were trapped and have been extricated."
It is believed that the driver of the four-wheel- drive and the horse were uninjured. No one else was in that vehicle.
The SIA crew members' car, a Toyota, was travelling westward when it crashed into the northbound four-wheel-drive at a cross-junction, according to the New Zealand Canterbury police.
Five ambulances and three response vehicles responded to the incident. Canterbury police's Serious Crash Unit was at the scene and investigations into the cause of the crash are ongoing.
The Straits Times understands that the SIA staff were part of the crew of Flight SQ297, which arrived in Christchurch from Singapore on Tuesday morning.
A spokesman for SIA said it had been informed of the accident by New Zealand police. He said: "Our immediate concern is for the welfare of our staff and we shall accord them and their families the highest standard of care and assistance."
