A total of 12 climbers who were stranded while climbing down Mount Santubong were safely brought down at about 10.23pm last night.

A spokesperson of the Fire and Rescue Department said they received a call at 5.48pm about the incident before an eight-man team led by officer Wan Umar Wan Alek from the Petrajaya Fire and Rescue Station were sent to the scene.

“The team arrived at 7.26 pm on Level 8 of Mount Santubong and found the stranded group comprising 10 men and two women. One of the women was injured in her right leg and was carried on a stretcher.”

He added that the rescue team brought the whole group down, reaching the bottom of the mountain at 10.23pm.

The injured victim had been handed over to the Civil Defence Force to be taken to the Sarawak General Hospital for further treatment.

Meanwhile, Eighteen hikers were stranded on Mount Jerai, about 600 metres above sea level near Bukit Hangus trail, after one of their friends fell and suffered injuries while climbing down, yesterday evening.

Kedah Fire and Rescue Department public relations officer Nur Hafizah Mohd Lokman said they received a distress call at 6.42pm and personnel from the Sungai Petani Fire and Rescue Station arrived at the scene half an hour later.

Initial reports from the rescue operation commander said the incident involved six women and 12 men who were stranded after one of their female friends sustained leg injuries and could not move when she slipped.

“The search and rescue operation which started at 9pm is under way with the help of forest rangers, mountain guides and the police while the distance from the operation centre to the scene is about 3.4km,” she said in a statement.

- Bernama