By P Prem Kumar
KUALA LUMPUR
Rescuers on Malaysia’s highest mountain recovered 11 bodies Saturday, bringing the death toll from a 6.0-magnitude earthquake that rocked eastern Sabah state to 13.
Ranau district police chief Mohd Farhan Lee Abdullah told reporters that search and rescue teams were still looking for six people who remained missing on Mount Kinabalu following Friday’s tremor.
Of the 11 bodies discovered Saturday, two have been brought down from the mountain by helicopter while another two were being transported by rescuers using a land passage.
"If the weather is good, the [seven other] bodies can be brought down fast using the helicopter, otherwise we will have to use the mountain trail," Abdullah added, according to the Malaysian Insider.
Earlier in the day, Sabah police chief Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman had confirmed to Anadolu Agency that the two victims found Friday had been identified as a 12-year old Singaporean girl and a 30-year-old mountain guide.
"The state government and police are still facing tremendous challenge in narrowing down the exact number of people affected, and their nationalities. That would take time," he said.
“Sad Day!” Sabah’s tourism minister Masidi Manjun had tweeted in the morning.
Meanwhile, 137 people who were trapped on the mountain – one of Southeast Asia's highest peaks -- for several hours due to landslides made it to safety early Saturday morning.
Abdullah had told a press conference at the park’s headquarters that around 20 people had been injured, including some suffering broken limbs and one believed to be in a coma.
Land and air search operations involving helicopters are ongoing in the area, which has been covered with fallen rocks. Mount Kinabalu reportedly sustained cracks to its surface following the tremor, which damaged the peak’s famed “Donkey’s Ears” rock formation.
The U.S Geological Survey said the quake happened around 7.15 a.m. (0015GMT) Friday, at a depth of 10 meters, its epicenter just 54 kilometers from the mountain on Borneo island.
The tremor is reported to have lasted for around 30 seconds, but caused minimal damage to buildings.
