News Digest

Five feared dead as strong 6.0-magnitude quake rocks Malaysia’s Borneo

Five are feared dead after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck near Malaysia’s Mount Kinabalu on Borneo on Friday, cracking roads and buildings in the region and injuring climbers on the popular peak, officials and media reports said. State officials were quoted by the New Straits Times saying at least four climbers had suffered injuries including broken bones and head wounds as the quake loosened stones and boulders on the 4,095-metre (13,435-foot) mountain’s wide granite summit. 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 peak’s craggy profile, sending it crashing into a gully. All climbing activities have been halted until further notice.

Bad news confirmed! Part of the iconic ‘Donkey’s Ear’ at Mount Kinabalu is gone due to strong tremor(s) this morning.

Sabah Tourism Minister Masidi Manjun

The US Geological Survey said the quake struck at around 7:15 am (2315 GMT) at a depth of 10 kilometres, with its epicentre located about 54 kilometres (34 miles) east of Kota Kinabalu, capital of 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. Malaysia is on a school break and Mount Kinabalu’s peak had at least 145 climbers on it at the time of the quake. Mount Kinabalu is sacred to the local Kadazun Dusun tribal group, considered a resting place for departed spirits.