Following this morning’s tremors felt across the west coast of Sabah, fears have arisen that there might have been casualties near the summit of Mount Kinabalu.
Local officials are so far not commenting on unconfirmed reports that at least five people near the summit of Mt Kinabalu may have died after being hit by rockfalls during the quake.
The tremors, which registered at 5.9 on the Richter scale, shook Mt Kinabalu for almost a minute.
Teams from the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) and the Fire and Rescue Department, including K-9 squads, were seen scrambling towards the Mt Kinabalu park area, while helicopters have been mobilised to airlift climbers stranded on the slopes, The Star Online reports.
It is learnt that two chalets – Panar Laban and Laban Rata – were also damaged but officials are still trying to ascertain the severity of the damage.
The earthquake struck at 7.17am this morning, and hit Ranau most directly, as it is located some 16km from the epicentre.
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