Singaporean tourists identified as victims of Canterbury crash

The pair of young tourists killed in a two-vehicle smash in Canterbury just hours after arriving in New Zealand were Singaporean technology executives, The Straits Times reports.

Rena Ong and Chen Zhi Hao died at the scene after their rented Jucy campervan was involved in a crash with a ute on State Highway 1, about 40km southwest of Christchurch at 1.12pm on Thursday.

They had arrived in New Zealand earlier that day.

Another person was taken to hospital with non-lifethreatening arm injuries after the collision.

Ong and Chen's manager, Crestron Asia-Pacific chief executive Stuart Craig, yesterday confirmed to Singaporean newspaper The Straits Times that they were the victims of the horror crash.

He said staff were "devastated" by their deaths and his thoughts were with the pair's relatives, friends and colleagues.

"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."

Chen's LinkedIn profile states that he worked as a technical director at Creston and Ong's profile identifies her as an operations executive at the company.

Both victims were believed to have been in their mid-20s to early 30s.

Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is providing their families with consular assistance, a spokesman told The Straits Times.

A police spokesperson said the serious crash unit is "investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash".