Sabah quake: 17 people still missing (updated)

KOTA KINABALU - All except 17 of the 189 climbers trapped on Mount Kinabalu following Friday's earthquake have been accounted for.

Sabah Fire and Rescue Services Department spokesman Affendy Ramin said the 17 climbers were still missing.

He said the last of the climbers reached the Timpohon gate at the base of the mountain at 2.46am Saturday.

Affendy said search and rescue operations were halted at 3.23am and resumed at 5am.

The operations involved dozens of the department's STORM personnel, SMART and military personnel as well as local mountain guides.

Among those brought down so far were the bodies of local mountain guide Robbi Sapinggi and a teenage female climber, who has yet to be identified.

Three of those rescued were seriously injured while six others had minor injuries.

The magnitude 5.9 quake struck 16km northwest of Ranau at 7.15am Friday, at a depth of 10km, with its epicentre located 19km from the town of Ranau, and 54km from Kota Kinabalu.

Apart from the state capital, the tremors were felt in the northern Kudat and Kota Marudu districts, and as far away Beaufort in the south.

The tremors shook buildings and rattled windows prompting people to run out from their houses, shops, and even at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport terminal.