Two Singaporeans, including a woman, have died in a car crash and one person was injured in New Zealand on Thursday. The Straits Times reported that Rena Ong and Chen Zhi Hao were employees at technology firm Crestron Singapore.
"We are devastated and our thoughts are with the families, friends and colleagues of Zhi Hao and Rena," Stuart Craig, chief executive of Crestron Asia-Pacific, told the Straits Times.
"They made a wonderful contribution to our company and were well-loved and respected throughout the audiovisual industry. Crestron is offering support to the families and to our Singapore Team," he added.
According to their LinkedIn profiles, Chen was a technical director and Ong was working as an operations executive at the company.
The New Zealand news site Stuff.co.nz reported on Friday that both of them were driving a rented camper van when their vehicle hit an oncoming car. The police said the accident took place on State Highway 1, south of Dunsandel, a township about 40 km south of Christchurch, at about 1.12 pm on Thursday.
Reports said the pair, who were reportedly in their mid 20s to early 30s, were pronounced dead at the scene.
"The camper van rounded the bend and for some unknown reason, crossed the centre line and was entirely on the wrong side of the road when it struck the north-bound vehicle," Senior sergeant Pete Stills told New Zealand media.
The police said the injured person was taken to hospital with an arm injury.
On Friday, a spokesman for Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that MFA is "rendering consular assistance to the families of the two Singaporeans involved in the fatal accident". "Our thoughts and condolences are with the families," she added.
