Climbers stuck on Mt Kinabalu
Posted: Fri 05 Jun, 2015 7:55 pm
From ABC
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-05/s ... lu/6525684
A powerful magnitude-6.0 earthquake has struck near Malaysia's Mount Kinabalu on Borneo, cracking roads and buildings in the region and injuring climbers on the popular peak.
The US Geological survey said the epicentre of the quake, which struck at around 7:15am local time at a depth of 10 kilometres, was about 54 kilometres from the state capital of Kota Kinabalu.
The New Strait Times said at least four climbers had suffered injuries including broken bones and head wounds as the quake loosened stones and boulders on the mountain's wide granite summit.
Authorities have ordered an estimated 200 climbers and at least 40 local guides to stay put at the summit due to lingering danger from falling stones and because rockfalls had rendered at least one key descent route impassable.
Fire and rescue officials said the climbers included both foreigners and Malaysians, according to local news reports.
"Rescuers operations underway at Mt Kinabalu," Masidi Manju Manjun, Sabah's minister for tourism, culture and environment, said in a post on Twitter.
Mr Manjun said the force of the tremor was so strong that it snapped off one of the two "Donkey's Ear" rock outcroppings that form a distinctive part of the mountain's peak.
The mountain has been closed for climbing until further notice.
One climber, identified as Charlene Dmp, posted pictures of hikers on top of the mountain.
"Currently we are waiting for the helicopter to save us," she said.
Colin Forsythe, a resident of Kota Kinabalu, said the quake felt "as if a truck had crashed into a brick wall".
He said the quake lasted around 15 seconds.
Local media reports said residents fled in terror from homes in the region as well as from Kota Kinabalu's International Airport.
There were no reports of major damage or injuries from the earthquake elsewhere in Sabah.
Major earthquakes are rare in Malaysia, which lies just outside the Ring of Fire, the belt of seismic activity running around the Pacific basin.
'Spirits angered by nude photos'
Mount Kinabalu is sacred to the local Kadazun Dusun tribal group, considered a resting place for departed spirits.
A group of 10 apparently Western men and women angered locals last weekend when they snapped nude photos at the summit and uploaded them on the internet.
Some Malaysian social media users posited that the quake was a sign the spirits had been angered by the act.
Authorities have not yet publicly identified the Caucasian-looking tourists or their suspected nationalities. Media reports have said they already had left the country.
Thousands of people complete the relatively easy climb to the summit each year.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-05/s ... lu/6525684
A powerful magnitude-6.0 earthquake has struck near Malaysia's Mount Kinabalu on Borneo, cracking roads and buildings in the region and injuring climbers on the popular peak.
The US Geological survey said the epicentre of the quake, which struck at around 7:15am local time at a depth of 10 kilometres, was about 54 kilometres from the state capital of Kota Kinabalu.
The New Strait Times said at least four climbers had suffered injuries including broken bones and head wounds as the quake loosened stones and boulders on the mountain's wide granite summit.
Authorities have ordered an estimated 200 climbers and at least 40 local guides to stay put at the summit due to lingering danger from falling stones and because rockfalls had rendered at least one key descent route impassable.
Fire and rescue officials said the climbers included both foreigners and Malaysians, according to local news reports.
"Rescuers operations underway at Mt Kinabalu," Masidi Manju Manjun, Sabah's minister for tourism, culture and environment, said in a post on Twitter.
Mr Manjun said the force of the tremor was so strong that it snapped off one of the two "Donkey's Ear" rock outcroppings that form a distinctive part of the mountain's peak.
The mountain has been closed for climbing until further notice.
One climber, identified as Charlene Dmp, posted pictures of hikers on top of the mountain.
"Currently we are waiting for the helicopter to save us," she said.
Colin Forsythe, a resident of Kota Kinabalu, said the quake felt "as if a truck had crashed into a brick wall".
He said the quake lasted around 15 seconds.
Local media reports said residents fled in terror from homes in the region as well as from Kota Kinabalu's International Airport.
There were no reports of major damage or injuries from the earthquake elsewhere in Sabah.
Major earthquakes are rare in Malaysia, which lies just outside the Ring of Fire, the belt of seismic activity running around the Pacific basin.
'Spirits angered by nude photos'
Mount Kinabalu is sacred to the local Kadazun Dusun tribal group, considered a resting place for departed spirits.
A group of 10 apparently Western men and women angered locals last weekend when they snapped nude photos at the summit and uploaded them on the internet.
Some Malaysian social media users posited that the quake was a sign the spirits had been angered by the act.
Authorities have not yet publicly identified the Caucasian-looking tourists or their suspected nationalities. Media reports have said they already had left the country.
Thousands of people complete the relatively easy climb to the summit each year.