TREMORS ROCKED THE SACRED MT. KINABALU

At about 07:15 this morning, a power magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck the world heritage area of Mount Kinabalu, cracking roads and buildings.

Strong tremors rocked the mountain especially the summit. As a result, many climbers were stranded there. Sabah Park reported that 138 of them have been trapped on the summit trail since the trekking path to Laban Rata has been impassable following the rockfalls and landslips. 

Sabah Park has closed all mountain trails and cancelled all climbs as facilities like the rest huts were badly damaged. Loose stones and boulders were reported tumbling down the summit and mountain trails.

The Government Authorities have seek the assistance of the Royal Malaysian Air force and private firms for helicopters to rescue the trapped climbers.

It was reported that the left "ear" of the iconic Donkey peak near the summit has fallen off during the tremors. Those who have climbed the mountain should know the icon.

  Picture of the "ears" in my file

 

 After the tremor.

In Ranau and Kundasang, several building structures, including business premises and roads were damaged including landslips.

The tremors were also felt in the west coast of Sabah, like Kota Kinabalu, Papar, Keningau, Tambunan, Tenom, Beaufort and Sipitang. 

Earthquake is very rare in Sabah - the last one was 40 years ago in Lahad Datu.

Many locals believed that the tremors were by spirits of the sacred mountain. They were angry over 10 foreign climbers who stripped naked and urinated at their resting place near the summit last week. 

However, some people were not convinced that there was any link between the spirits and the stripping and urinating incident.

Believe it or not, the Kadazandusuns (tribal group) maintained that the mountain is a sacred resting ground for their ancestors' spirits and should be treated with great respect. 

Let's hope that all the stranded climbers will be rescued soon.