KOTA KINABALU: All climbing activities are cancelled at Mount Kinabalu on Friday (Jun 5) for safety reasons following the quake which hit the state at about 7.15am. State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Masidi Manjun confirmed this in his twitter account. “Loose stones and bolders are falling due to the tremor (from the quake),” he said. He added that the climbers’ huts at Panar Laban and Gunting Lagadan were badly damaged, but there was no report of human injury. “Sadly, the iconic Donkey’s Ears at Mount Kinabalu may have been badly damaged, awaiting confirmation,” he tweeted.
Malaysia’s Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman has declared an emergency holiday for the state and civil servants in Ranau area after Friday’s 5.9-magnitude earthquake. He also advised the public to remain alert and cautious following the quake. He said the State Disaster Relief Committee had been activated to monitor and assist those in need, including those stranded on the mountain.
Thirty mountain guides were on standby to carry out rescue mission for climbers who might be stranded on Mount Kinabalu.
” We will carry out the rescue mission if there are climbers or the Park’s staff stranded there,” one of the mountain guides, Mohd Asli Supilin told Bernama. He added that the mountain guides not only guide climbers up the mountain, but were also trained to handle emergencies.
An earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale hit Ranau in Sabah at 7.15am on Friday. The National Earthquake and Tsunami Centre said the tremors were felt in most places in Sabah, including Ranau, Tambun, Tuaran, Pedalaman, Kota Kinabalu and Kota Belud. There were 138 climbers believed to be stranded on the mountain following the quake according to a source.
The Meteorological Department has advised the people of Ranau and its vicinity in Sabah to be on the alert for a possible aftershocks over the next 24 hours following the quake.
Yunus Muhamad, a resident in Ranau, said the tremor from the quake caused a glass door of a bank to break and the walls of another bank and a supermarket to crack. However, he said the incident did not affect the daily routine of residents in Ranau. Yunus, who is a bank employee, said he was in his orchard near his house when he saw the bridge across Sungai Liwagi sway.
Meanwhle, Sabah Fire and Rescue Department public relations officer Mohd Affendy K Ramin said several business premises and government offices in Ranau were damaged and firemen had been instructed to monitor the situation to ensure no one was trapped in the buildings……
See full story on channelnewsasia.com
Photo: Charlene Dmp/twitter