A strong earthquake that jolted Malaysia’s Mount Kinabalu killed at least 11 people and left another eight missing, an official said yesterday, as authorities searched for survivors on the peak.
The magnitude 6 quake struck early on Friday near the picturesque mountain, a popular tourist destination, sending landslides and huge granite boulders tumbling down from the 4,095m peak’s wide, craggy crown.
“From Kinabalu park management, I want to express my condolences to the families of the victims,” Sabah State Minister of Tourism Masidi Manjunfor said as he announced the toll at the mountain park’s office on Borneo Island.
Photo: AFP
Masidi said authorities could not yet confirm the identities of the dead and missing people.
Malaysian media reports said they included members of a Singaporean primary-school group on an excursion to the peak, including a 12-year-old girl who was killed.
“It’s very sad. The Singapore children were so happy when they arrived here, but now...” Masidi said, trailing off as he shook his head.
Malaysian rescuers earlier yesterday finished bringing down to safety 137 hikers who were stuck on the mountain for up to 18 hours after the quake damaged a key trail and they faced the threat of continuing rockfalls.
Crews and officials engaged in further search and rescue efforts were kept on edge by a series of aftershocks, including one in the afternoon that Malaysian officials rated at magnitude 4.5.
The temblor sent staff and journalists scurrying out of the park’s headquarters.
Malaysian media reports said most of the people on the peak when the quake hit were Malaysian, but that they also included hikers from Singapore, the US, the Philippines, Britain, Thailand, Turkey, China and Japan.
A Malaysian climbing guide was among those dead, local media said.
Authorities have not provided details on injuries suffered by climbers.
Major earthquakes are rare in Malaysia and the tremor was one of the strongest in decades. It jolted a wide area of Sabah, shattering windows, cracking walls and sending people fleeing outdoors.
There were no reports of major damage nor any casualties other than those on the mountain.
Masidi said all climbing would be suspended at Mount Kinabalu for at least three weeks to allow for repairs to damaged trails, accommodation and other facilities.
Malaysia’s Bernama news agency quoted a climber describing his terror as the quake unleashed a shower of boulders from the peak.
“Rocks were raining down fast, like rock blasting,” Lee Yoke Fah, a 60-year-old Malaysian who suffered minor injuries, was quoted as saying. “I am not going to climb again, I am scared.”
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