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| Mount Kinabalu conquered! |
The
5.9 magnitude earthquake which struck the Ranau district in Sabah, Malaysia on
June 5, 2015, claimed the lives of 18 people on Mount Kinabalu, with most of
the deaths being students and teachers from a primary school in Singapore. My
friend Feroz was amongst the climbers left stranded at the Summit in the
aftermath of the disaster. This is his personal account of how he survived the ordeal
and lived to tell the tale.
Conquering Mount
Kinabalu amidst such highly challenging circumstances is no small feat. I am
hugely relieved that my friend and others are safe but my heart goes out to
those who didn’t make it and the tragic loss suffered by their grieving
families.
Thank you Feroz, for sharing
your story and may we all learn something from it.
“It all started back in March 2015 when I volunteered to join
Talisman/Repsol Mount Kinabalu expedition consisting of 9 individuals to raise
funds for 5 local charities in Sabah. For the next 3 months, a lot of effort
was put in by hiking several hills/mountains including Gunung Dato and Frasers
Hill as part of our training. Further to that, we've also managed to raise a
substantial amount for the charities, which Talisman/Repsol will match 1:1.
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| All geared up for the climb |
June
4, 2015 was our big day, the beginning of our Mount Kinabalu climb. We started
our journey from Timpohon Gate at 9.00 am and reached Laban Rata at 2.00 pm. After
an early dinner, all of us were in bed by 9.00 pm.
It
was early morning at 2.30 am when we started our climb to the Summit. By 6.20
am, all 9 of us had successfully made it to the peak! We were so overjoyed that
we had achieved our goal. After taking a great team photo, we started to come
down from the peak at 7.00 am.
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Our
joy was cut short when we felt a huge vibration, heard a loud noise and witnessed
the rocks falling down from most of the peaks at the Summit. All of us were shocked
and wanted to quicken our descent only to realize that the trail had been
severely damaged. We were notified that the trail was no longer accessible and
safe to be used but a rescue team will come to our aid.
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| Stranded at the Summit 4,000m above sea level for 9 hours |
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| Self-constructed tent at the Summit for shelter |
At the time, there were more than 130 people stranded at the
Summit (7.5km) and we had to wait for further news from the coordination team in
base camp. We were later informed that there will be troops coming to open up a
new trail for us, bringing food, drinks, blankets, the rescue chopper was arriving
shortly, etc... but to no avail.
Our hope to be evacuated became slim as sunset
was approaching. We had 2 options: either to stay overnight at 5 degrees at
4,000m above sea level without proper clothing, sufficient food nor water, or
to take the risk and find our own way down.
The group decided to do the descent as another earthquake was
expected to happen at 9.00 pm. If we were still at the Summit by then, it was
likely that we would not survive. The mountain guides did an extremely good job
by opening up a new trail for all of us which was rather dangerous but a risk
that we were willing to take so that we can return to a safer location.
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| Waiting to continue our descent whilst the mountain guides prepared the new trails |
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| New trail created by the mountain guides |
We started our descent at 4.30 pm and witnessed the aftermath of
the earthquake ourselves. The saddest thing was when we came across several
dead bodies trapped under rocks and some body parts which were detached and
scattered on the ground. We just had to be strong and continued our journey in
the dark for about 9 hours and we finally reached the Kinabalu base camp at 2.00
am. Our team of 9 plus our trainers, Zaim and EK from Active Bugs, had shown
great teamwork from day 1, lifting everyone's spirits during the difficult
times despite the trauma that we had to go through.
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| Walking past the big boulder |
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| The smoke after the earthquake |
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| What's left of the "Donkey's Ear" |
A special commendation and appreciation should be given to the mountain
guides for their great dedication in looking after us whilst we were at the
Summit and ensuring our safe return to the base camp. Without them, I don't
think we would still be around today.
On another note, we were truly disappointed with the way our
authorities handled this rescue mission. The earthquake struck at 7.15 am but Majlis
Keselamatan Negara only had their meeting at 3.00 pm. Enough said on this but I
truly hope our leaders will do a post-mortem of the rescue mission and make them
accountable. We have lost our faith in them after personally going through this
ordeal.
Overall, it has been a truly roller-coaster experience for me
personally and our team. We had great fun together during training and upon
reaching the Summit; getting stranded at 4,000m above sea level on our own; constructing
a tent and starting a bonfire to keep us warm. It was traumatic and mentally
and physically draining to witness the end of “Donkey’s Ear Peak”, finding dead
bodies/limbs, etc. but most importantly we made it to safety. Our prayers go to
those who didn't make it and those who got injured along the way. This
experience has had a great impact on my life and will remain in my memory
forever.
We are truly grateful to Allah (Syukur Alhamdulillah) for
protecting us from the worst and for our safe return."
Lotsa Luv
