Singapore declares day of national remembrance after six students and teacher die on Mount Kinabalu
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong thanked Malaysian authorities, the search and rescue teams and all others “who are working tirelessly in the rescue and recovery efforts.”
Singapore has declared Monday a day of national remembrance after six primary school students and one teacher from the city state were among 16 people killed during an earthquake that rocked Malaysia’s Mount Kinabalu.
State flags on all government buildings will be flown at half-mast and one minute of silence will be observed in what has been called “Singapore’s tragedy in Sabah”.
Malaysian officials said the death toll from the earthquake that struck on Friday morning had risen to 16, from an earlier 13, with two still missing.
The Singaporean students were part of a school excursion to the popular climbing destination, which was jolted by a 6.0-magnitude quake just as the 4,095-metre-high mountain was crowded with hikers.
The tremor triggered thunderous landslides that obliterated sections of trail on the peak, located in the state of Sabah on Borneo island.
Singapore’s government also has said a teacher and a Singaporean adventure guide perished, while another student and a teacher remained missing.