Malaysian officials rescue quake-stranded climbers, retrieve nine bodies

Malaysian rescuers brought the last of 137 hikers down to safety Saturday after an earthquake stranded them atop Mount Kinabalu, an official said, but media reports said that at least two people were killed. The 6.0-magnitude quake struck near the picturesque mountain, a popular tourist destination, early Friday, triggering landslides and sending huge granite boulders tumbling down the 4,095-metre peak’s wide, jagged crown. The quake, one of the strongest in the country in decades, jolted a wide area of the Malaysian state of Sabah on Borneo island, shattering windows, cracking walls, and causing other relatively minor damage.

The 137 climbers have safely arrived at the Park HQ, the last batch at 2:50 am (1850 GMT). We have a challenging task today searching for those missing.

Sabah state tourism minister Masidi Manjun, on his Twitter feed

Meanwhile, nine more bodies were recovered by the search and rescue team on Mount Kinabalu. This brings the total number of deceased victims to 11, as two more bodies were recovered earlier. Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said a forensic team has been deployed to conduct investigations and identify the victims. Search operations are focussed between the Laban Rata and Sayat Sayat area on a kilometre-long stretch along the summit trail this morning.

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