145 hikers trapped in mountains as earthquake rocks island of Borneo

Reuters –Some tourists were injured and scores stranded on one of Southeast Asia’s highest mountains on Friday when a 6 magnitude earthquake rocked parts of the Malaysian state of Sabah on Borneo island.

The U.S. Geological survey said the epicenter of the quake, which struck in the morning, was about 33 milesfrom the state capital of Kota Kinabalu.

Foreign and domestic hikers flock to Sabah to climb the 13,435 feetMount Kinabalu, where at least 145 people were trapped, the New Strait Times newspaper reported, citing officials.

“Rescuers operations underway at Mt Kinabalu,” Masidi Manjun, Sabah’s minister for tourism, culture and environment, said in a post on Twitter.

“There were reports of climbers trapped and injured.”

It was not clear how seriously the tourists were injured and how they were stranded but Manjun said all climbing had been canceled as loose boulders were falling after the quake.

One climber, identified as Charlene Dmp, posted pictures of hikers on top of the mountain.

“Currently we are waiting for the helicopter to save us,” she said.

There were no reports major damage or injuries from the earthquake elsewhere in Sabah.