Nine more bodies recovered from Mt Kinabalu

This article is more than 12 months old

Jun 06, 2015 02:36 pm

Nine more bodies have been recovered on Mount Kinabalu, pushing the death toll following Friday's earthquake to 11.

Eight people are still unaccounted for and at least one climber is in a coma while others have suffered broken limbs.

At a joint media conference on Saturday (June 6) Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said Police have a forensics team on stand by to identify the bodies that would be airlifted out of the mountain.

Ranau police chief Deputy Supt Farhan Lee Abdullah, who said they they were awaiting for the weather to clear on the mountain for helicopters to fly out the bodies.

AFP reported that Malaysian rescuers brought 137 hikers to safety after they had been stuck on the mountain for up to 18 hours. Their descent was slowed by damage to a key trail and the threat of rock fall.

Aftershocks are still being felt in the area.

The police said a 50-year-old female car driver is assisting with investigations.

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The mountain will be also be closed for at least three weeks. Masidi said it would enable Sabah Parks to take stock of the damage and determine the necessary repairs that had to be carried out.

"Our overriding concern has always been the safety of the climbers," he said, adding they were planning an interfaith religious ceremony on the mountain that will also include rituals of the ethnic community.

The earthquake happened at 7.15am Friday (June 5).