Striking blue ‘rainbow’ seen in skies over Mt Kinabalu

Images of the blue rays seen over Mount Kinabalu.

KOTA KINABALU: The blue rays seen in the skies over Mount Kinabalu are believed to be a phenomenon usually associated with areas hit by earthquakes.

The photo and video of the blue rays over Mount Kinabalu went viral Thursday evening, a week after the earthquake.

Geologists describe it as a "blue brush stroke light".

They say the generation of lights involved ionization of oxygen in some types of rocks due to high stress before, during and after earthquake and other seismic activities.

The villagers in Ranau living at the foothills of Mount Kinabalu said that the blue rays lasted for a short while and they recorded a video the phenomenon for several minutes.

A Ranau-based nurse Rina Ripau also posted photos of the phenomenon on her Facebook profile.

Another villager said that the skies were bright as if there was a rainbow, but unlike a rainbow, it was all striking blue.

"We have not seen something like this before," said the villager.

Nearly 61 tremors have been felt in the aftermath of the June 5 earthquake with the last reported at 10.57pm on Thursday.