A group of students from the Tanjong Katong Primary School were on excursion at Mount Kinabalu when a 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck Friday, reports Channel NewsAsia ( CNA ).

The local television quoted James Ho, a parent of one of the students, as saying that at least eight of them were uncontactable, along with two teachers.

The 12-year-old students and their teachers were understood to have departed Mount Kinabalu on Wednesday for a leadership programme and were expected to return on Monday afternoon.

CNA reported anxious parents were seen rushing into the school for a meeting with teachers on Friday afternoon.

One woman said her daughter was injured and was "on the way to hospital".

Ho told CNA that his 12-year-old daughter, Rachel, was one of eight students stranded at the Ferrata route on Mount Kinabalu.

He said he had received no news on their well-being.

"This happened in the morning and it's been more than 12 hours...and the frustrating thing is, we are not getting any updates on the rescue operations," he was quoted as saying.

Another 19 students from the school had returned to safety, said Ho, adding that five of them and a teacher sustained minor injuries.

Sadri Farick, whose child sustained leg injuries after the quake, also expressed frustration at the lack of information.

In a statement, CNA said the Ministry of Education confirmed that 10 people from Tanjong Katong Primary School had yet to be accounted for.

- Bernama