On Friday morning, a 6.0 magnitude earthquake hit the mountain in Sabbah, Malaysia and at least 16 people are confirmed dead. Among them are 6 Singaporean school children on a field trip, along with their teacher and guide in the world famous tourist destination for climbers and tourist alike, Mount Kinabalu, BBC reports.
Two people are still missing on the mountain while hundreds of workers continue their search in the hopes to still find them alive. Despite the devastating loss of lives, including those of innocent students, one thought to be missing has been found and many others made it out safe including 167 climbers with the help of mountain guides, Malaysia's Fire and Rescue Department said.
"All the paths vanished", one survivor told a reporter. She recalled that when the quake struck, rocks fell and blocked off the trails which stranded them. Temperatures on the famous mountain are near-freezing making their experience more grueling. She said they had to endure a 10-hour hike in the middle of the night to get to the nearest base. The mountain guides had to make new paths moving rocks and cutting trees, sometimes passing by what looked like bodies of the victims just to get them (climbers and tourists) to safety. The mountain guides are our heroes, one survivor said. "No one came to save us, if it hadn't been for our guide, we would be freezing to death.", one tourist told CNN.
On Monday, Singapore and Sabbah are observing a state of mourning in honor of those who were killed by the quake. In Singapore, flags are at a half-mast and a minute of silence was observed at the Southeast Asian Games venues, which the city-state is now hosting. Singaporean Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong said in a statement, "Our hearts go out to their families.", he also praised the children for striving to stretch their limits and taking on new challenges.
Sabbah Deputy Chief Minister, Joseph Pairim Kitingan said that the earthquake is linked to the disrespect of 10 foreign tourists who earlier had stripped naked on the mountain. "It is a sacred mountain and you can not take it lightly.", he added.
Different nationals are reported to have been on the Mount Kinabalu when he quake hit early Friday, they are from the United States, Philippines, U.K., Thailand, Japan and Turkey. One Japanese and one Chinese are also confirmed to be among the 16 killed.
