160 climbers left stranded as Malaysian peak hit by quake
Print Edition
MALAYSIAN authorities yesterday raced to try to reach about 160 people, some of them injured, who were stranded atop Mount Kinabalu after an earthquake triggered rockfalls.
The magnitude-6.0 quake struck near the mountain about 7:15am yesterday, jolting a wide area of the Malaysian state of Sabah on Borneo island, causing widespread but relatively minor damage.
No deaths had been reported as of late yesterday afternoon.
But Sabah’s tourism minister Masidi Manjun said the quake had triggered landslides and sent boulders tumbling down the 4,095-meter mountain.
About 160 people, including foreigners, were stuck just below the summit, unable to descend due to lingering danger from rockfalls and because a key trail had been cut off, Masidi said.
“Its very tricky now. We can’t land a helicopter up there because visibility is so bad, but the people can’t come down on their own because the main route is impassable,” he said.
Authorities had earlier said more than 200 were feared trapped, but Masidi said some appeared to have made it down. State officials were quoted by the New Straits Times as saying at least four climbers had suffered injuries including broken bones and head wounds due to falling rocks.
The force of the tremor was so strong that it snapped off one of the two large “Donkey’s Ear” rock outcroppings that form a distinctive part of the peak’s profile, Masidi said.
He said authorities were focused on trying to get supplies including food, water and warm clothing to the stranded climbers in anticipation of a possibly wet and chilly night.
Kinabalu’s undulating summit is frequently lashed with heavy rain, and night temperatures can dip below freezing.
The United States Geological Survey said the quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometers, with its epicentre located about 54km east of Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah.
No tsunami warning was issued and there were no initial reports of major damage.
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