HOKKAIDO - A bus ferrying Singaporean tourists in the Japanese island of Hokkaido crashed on Tuesday morning, in the second such accident involving Singaporeans in recent months.

The accident happened around 11am, when the tour bus veered off the snow-covered road and into a field, hitting roadside poles.

Seventeen people were injured, including a tour guide, according to a Lianhe Zaobao report online.

A spokesman from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Singapore said the Singaporeans had been treated for light injuries and discharged from hospital, adding: "The Singapore Embassy in Tokyo has been working closely with the local Japanese authorities and the Singaporean tour company to render consular assistance to the 16 Singaporeans."

The previous accident took place on October 23.

A bus heading to Sapporo carrying 33 tourists from Singapore and a Japanese tour conductor was involved in a head-on collision with a truck. Both drivers died, but none of the Singaporeans is believed to have been seriously hurt.