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Five Singapore primary school students and one teacher were among the 13 people so far confirmed killed by an earthquake that rocked Malaysia’s Mount Kinabalu, the city-state’s government said Sunday.
“We are deeply saddened to inform that the bodies recovered by the Malaysian authorities have been identified by their next-of-kin as five students and one teacher from Tanjong Katong Primary School,” said a statement by Singapore’s Ministry of Education.
The statement also confirmed that a Singapore adventure guide who accompanied a school excursion to the popular climbing destination was killed in Friday’s quake, which triggered massive landslides on the mountain.
It added that another student and a teacher remained missing.
Rescue teams continued to search on Sunday for six people that authorities say are still missing.
Friday’s 6.0-magnitude quake, which struck near the mountain in the state of Sabah on Borneo island, was one of Malaysia’s strongest in decades.
But there have been no reports of major damage or any casualties outside of those on the 4,095-metre-high (13,435-foot) mountain, a Borneo tourist destination.
Malaysian officials have so far released few details on casualties at the peak.
 
Aftershocks leave rescuers on edge 
Masidi Manjun, tourism minister for Sabah state, said on Twitter Sunday that search teams would focus on a section that he said has been “dubbed ‘river of stones’ when (the) earthquake struck early Friday which rendered the track impassable, trapping climbers.”
Besides the Singaporean girl, Malaysian media reports also have said the dead included a local climbing guide.
Rescuers Saturday had escorted down to safety 137 hikers who were stuck on the mountain for up to 18 hours by the rockfalls.
Crews and officials engaged in search and rescue efforts have been kept on edge by aftershocks, including a Saturday afternoon temblor that Malaysian officials rated at 4.5-magnitude.
It sent staff and journalists scurrying out of the park’s headquarters when it hit.
Reports said climbers on the mountain at the time were from countries including Singapore, the United States, the Philippines, Britain, Thailand, Turkey, China and Japan, as well as many from Malaysia.
Major earthquakes are rare in Malaysia and the tremor was one of the strongest in decades, jolting a wide area of Sabah and sending people fleeing outdoors.
There have been no reports of major damage or any casualties outside of those on the mountain.
Climbing has been suspended at Mount Kinabalu for at least three weeks so authorities can make repairs and assess safety risks.
Around 20,000 people complete the relatively easy climb each year.
Mount Kinabalu is sacred to the local Kadazan Dusun tribe.
Malaysian social media users and some officials have suggested the quake was a sign tribal spirits were angry after a group of 10 apparently Western men and women tourists last weekend snapped nude photos at the summit and posted them on the Internet.


5 Singapore students, 1 teacher killed in Malaysia quake 

Climbers trek down the Timpohan Trail with the help of local mountain guides on Mount Kinabalu after it was struck by a strong earthquake. Photo: AP

A guide carries an injured climber. Photo: SMP Pictures

A guide carries an injured climber. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Rescuers prepare to carry the bodies of victims down to the bottom of Mount Kinabalu in Kota Kinabalu on June 7, 2015. Photo: Xinhua

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