A source from the Kinabalu National Park said 138 climbers were believed to be stranded on the mountain following the earthquake which hit Sabah today.

Thirty mountain guides are on standby to carry out rescue mission for the climbers.

One of the mountain guides, Mohd Asli Supilin, said they were awaiting the green light from the Kinabalu National Park management to ascend the 4,095.2m-high mountain.

“We will carry out the rescue mission if there are climbers or the park’s staff stranded there,” he told Bernama when met at the park in Kundasang today.

Mohd Asli said the mountain guides not only to guide climbers up the mountain, but were also trained to handle emergencies.

Meanwhile, a Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) Eurocopter EC725 has been despatched to Laban Rata in Mount Kinabalu to help save climbers who were stranded on the mountain.

This was stated by Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein on his Twitter, in response to a request by Sabah Tourist, Culture and Environment Minister Masidi Manjun.

He said the aircraft was also bringing food and water for the stranded hikers.

Masidi had requested for military helicopters which could be utilised in extreme weather conditions for the rescue effort.

Hishammuddin said the Defence Ministry and the Malaysian Armed Forces were always ready to assist Sabah.

An earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale hit Ranau in Sabah at 7.15am today, causing tremors in several areas including Tambunan, Tuaran, Kota Kinabalu and Kota Belud.

The quake’s epicentre was 16km north-west of Ranau.

Following the incident, the Sabah Parks has cancelled all climbing activities at Mount Kinabalu for safety reasons.

- Bernama