KUNDASANG, June 7 – Authorities today identified the Singaporean primary school children who are among those killed or still missing on Mount Kinabalu after a moderate earthquake hit Sabah on Friday.
The Singapore entourage from the republic’s Tanjung Katong Primary School include five 12-year-olds, a 13-year-old and three adults.
They are Rachel Ho Yann Shiuan, 12; Sonia Jhala, 12; Emilie Giovanna Ramu, 12; and Ameer Ryaan Mohd Adeed, 12; Navdeep Singh Jaryal a/l Rajkumar, 13; Mohammad Ghazi Mohamed, 35; Loo Jian Liang Terrence, 29; and Muhammad Daanish Amran, 22.
Others victims were six Malaysians including three mountain staff, and one Chinese, Filipino and Japanese national each.
The Malaysians were named as Lim Choon Seong, 45; Muhammad Loqman Abd Karim, 22; Mohd Khiruladzuan Abd, 39; and mountain staff Valerian Joannes, Ricky Masirin and Joseph Solugin.
The foreigners were identified as Luqi, 35, from China; Karyl Mitzi Higuit Matahom, 12, from Philippines; and Ozaki Masahiro, 29, from Japan.
The climbers were struck by the aftermath of a 5.9 magnitude earthquake, the worst in Malaysia, on Friday morning at 7.15am.
The quake, some 16km north of Ranau within the Kinabalu Park, was sufficient to cause the distinctive Donkey Ear’s peak of Mount Kinabalu to be broken, among other damage mostly within Ranau and Kundasang.
Search and rescue operations by air and land yesterday found 11 bodies. All were retrieved and sent to hospitals, but have yet to be identified by authorities.
On Friday night, two bodies, that of 30-year-old mountain guide Robbi Sapinggi and 12-year-old Singaporean student Peony Wee Ying Ping were brought down by search and rescue teams.
One victim, Prajesh Dhamant Patel, a 12-year-old Singaporean, was listed as severely injured and is receiving medical attention at the Gleneagles Medical centre in Kota Kinabalu.
Rescue efforts continue today with helicopters heard circling as early as 6am. Yesterday, district police chief superintendent Farhan Lee Abdullah said they were searching between KM6.5 and KM7.5 where the via ferrata obstacle course is located.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is expected to arrive here today to assess situations.
He was scheduled to attend the national level Kaamatan festival here but the event was cancelled following the quake.
.jpg)
