Mt Kinabalu tragedy remembered

The new Kota Belud trail is slightly shorter compared with the Ranau track that was opened last month.

KOTA KINABALU: A memorial dedicated to the 18 people who lost their lives in the Mount Kinabalu earthquake will be unveiled exactly a year after the June 5, 2015 tragedy.

Sabah Parks chairman Tengku Datuk Zainal Adlin Tengku Maha­mood said the memorial had been built at the base of the mountain at an area overlooking Kampung Kiau.

The scenic village was home of mountain guide Robbi Sapinggi, who sacrificed his life to keep other climbers safe on that day.

Tengku Adlin said the memorial would be unveiled by state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun on June 5.

Some 10 relatives of the Singaporean students who were killed or survived in rock avalanches following the magnitude-6 earthquake would be planting trees near the memorial on June 3.

He said the family members would trek up the mountain the following day.

A total of 12 Singaporean students and teachers aged between 12 and 35 from the Tanjong Katong primary school were killed in rock avalanches following the 7am earthquake.

Robbi was among the four mountain guides and one of the six Malaysians who lost their lives on that day.

The other casualties were a Filipino, Japanese and a China national.

Sabah Parks had closed the mountain for activities until September when the trail to Panalaban at an altitude of 3,314m was reopened.

The first of two trails to the 4,095m Lows Peak summit was reopened on Dec 1.