KOTA KINABALU, June 11 — Allegations of disorganised rescue efforts following Sabah’s deadly earthquake have resurfaced with a video of three mountain guides who said they risked the night descent from Mount Kinabalu rather than wait for rescue that never came.
In the independently-made video posted on Wild Wild Wind Facebook Page to pay tribute to the mountain guides of Kinabalu, Supanih Tuboh said that he was extremely disappointed that the 137 climbers, including himself, did not get the rescue they were promised.
“We waited from about 7.15am to 4.00pm. We were tired, cold, dehydrated. If we didn’t decide to make our own way down, there would possibly have been more deaths,” said Supanih Tuboh.
“Maybe there were too much procedure or SOP that held them back from doing what they felt was best. I’m so very disappointed that procedures preceded human lives,” he said.
Another guide, Christopher Peter Ebi, said that descending was their priority as the dangers of staying up in the open summit without proper supplies were far greater than the trek down.
It has been reported that some 137 climbers, including about 30 guides, were stranded at the summit around KM7.5 for more than eight hours while they waited for a helicopter or rescue teams from below.
The normal climbing routes were covered with rocks and rubble from the magnitude 5.9 earthquake earlier in the morning and they had to go ahead of the climbers to find a safe descent route.
The decision was made more complicated when, after being told weather was too bad for air rescue, the guides were informed that helicopters would be dispatched during a spell when the skies cleared up.
But the helicopters were ultimately not sent that day, a decision that later became a contentious point over whether this contributed to some of the deaths that occurred.
“We decided, after we were told that no rescue team was coming, to go down by ourselves,” he said, adding that he was tasked with carrying and holding the ropes to guide the climbers down.
The climbers had begun their descent about 5pm following the local mountain guides who had found an alternative route.
“It was only at KM6.5 that we were met by our colleagues who gave us food and water,” said Supanih.
The climbers rested and regained some energy before continuing their descent in the dark and arrived at the Timpohon Gate base where they were greeted by medical officers and rescue teams.
All 137 climbers had made it back by 3am in pitch black darkness.
A Malaysian-born Australian trekker who was among the 105 tourist climbers stranded at the mountain’s summit on Friday lashed out at Malaysia’s emergency response, calling it a “farce”.
In an interview with Australia’s ABC News, Vee Jin Dumlao alleged of shambolic organisation by local rescuers, whom she said idled and ate food meant for victims while the native guides did most of the rescuing.
She also claimed that some of those who died might have been saved if the rescue helicopters had been sent when weather cleared up on Friday evening.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak later said the teams “did everything humanly possible under the circumstances” to save the climbers stranded on the mountain following the quake but was hampered by bad weather conditions.
“We are not belittling the efforts of other rescue agencies, but we were feeling sorry for our climbers, so we decided we had to go back home, or others would have died from starvation, cold or dehydration,” said Safrey Sumping, another guide who had been stranded on the mountain.
“Honest to God, that’s what happened. I am unable to tell you everything that we went through but the risks were so high. It was life or death,” said Supanih.
Tourism, Culture and Environment minister Datuk Masidi Manjun yesterday said that one of the proposals being discussed on how to give due credit to the mountain guides was to recognise them at the annual Malaysia Day celebrations to be held in September.
“We will invite them as special guests and acknowledge their contribution post-earthquake as a shining example of character and stepping up in critical moments,” he said.
Eighteen people including two mountain guides were killed on Mount Kinabalu in what is believed to be the strongest earthquake recorded in Malaysia.
– See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/in-tribute-video-sabah-mountain-guides-say-gambled-on-descent-when-rescue-d#sthash.Lc2PtC8R.dpuf