Earthquake at Mount Kinabalu (3)

This is an excellent account of the day when the 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck. Watch the footage of the quake, rescue efforts and the recounts from the mountain guides and rescue team.




Portrait of a mountain guide of Mount Kinabalu. His life as mountain guide and the day when the quake struck.



The above youtube videos are from Channel NewsAsia Connect.

Earthquake at Mount Kinabalu (2)

It is a sad news to find out that 19 people had died in the earthquake on Mount Kinabalu, Sabah. Out of which many were 12 year old Singapore's Tanjong Katong Primary School students and their teachers. The mountain guides and local authority are still looking for 6 missing pupils and 2 teachers.


For latest news and updates of search you can follow:

• Singapore Minister of Education, Heng Swee Keat's Facebook Page
• Twitter of Masidi Manjun, @MasidiM, Minister of Tourism, Culture & Environment, Sabah (Malaysia)
• Sabah Tourism Board on the accessibility of Mount Kinabalu
• The Star Online (Malaysia) on Sabah Quake
• The Straights Times on Sabah Quake
• Sin Chew Daily (in Mandarin) on the earthquake in Sabah
• BBC news on Malaysia mountain quake
• Australia's ABC News on Malaysia Earthquake
• CNN on Sabah earthquake

Other records of the earthquake on Mount Kinabalu

Survived climbers' account of the incident

• An account of the Via Ferrata route taken by the Tanjong Katong Primary School students
• Another account from the operator of the Vie Ferrata trek
• An account from a survivor of the earthquake on the heroic local mountain guides
• Stories of the unsung hero, local mountain guides

More specific updates or information

• Singapore news on the return of students. In total there were 87 students from 3 Singapore's primary schools, out of nearly 200 climbers, on the mountain when the quake struck. 
• A list of aftershock account from Sin Chew Daily
• The worst hit mid-way accommodation, Panar Laban, before the quake. The hut is just a few hundred meters above Laban Rata.

This photo is taken in 2011. Standing on the end of the plateau of the summit looking down to Sayat Sayat checkpoint (the last checkpoint before summit). At the far right of the photo you can see people descended slowly from the slope.

Earthquake at Mount Kinabalu

It is the last thing that you could imagine that an earthquake will hit Mount Kinabalu. Being a Malaysia we always pride ourselves living in a land devoid of natural disasters. Even Sabah is being called as the "Land Below The Wind", a phrase describes lands south of the typhoon belt.

A 5.9 magnitude earthquake hit the district of Ranau, Sabah, including Mount Kinabalu this morning at 7.17am. From the latest news, 10 people are unconscious, 3 mountain guides stuck in between boulders and rocks and hundred of mountain climbers still remain stranded at the plateau at the summit of the mountain. One death is confirmed.

BBC has a concise account of the quake. ABC Australia also reported the quake. From the news, it seems the fallen rocks are blocking the mountain trail preventing rescue team to gain access to the plateau.

Based on the latest news, at 10.30pm (5 June 2015) from the twitter of Minister of Tourism of Malaysia, who is from Sabah, the last 137 climbers is out from the plateau of the summit and had reach Panar Laban. They decided to continue their descend to the park's HQ.

Let's prey that everyone will be back to base camp safely.

A twitter showed a photo that the left ear of Donkey Ears is gone due to the tremor.

Get the latest news from the twitter of Minister of Tourism, Culture & Environment who is from Sabah.