KOTA KINABALU: A local man fainted during his attempt to climb Mount Kinabalu and was later pronounced dead in Sabah’s hill district of Ranau, some 100km from here.
The 52-year-old man, who was climbing with his wife, was within 200m of reaching Malaysia’s highest peak when he collapsed on Tuesday (June 11).
Ranau police chief Deputy Supt Simiun Lomudin said the incident happened at about 5.30am.
He said mountain porters at the location immediately gave the climber cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) but failed to revive him.
The fire department’s Mountain and Search Rescue (Mosar) unit then carried the victim down to the Timpohon gate, the starting point of the mountain trek.
“A medical officer from the Kundasang health clinic subsequently confirmed the climber had died,” he said when contacted on Thursday (June 13).
DSP Simiun said the police were notified of the matter at about 11am on Tuesday.
“The body has been sent to the forensics department at the Ranau hospital for a postmortem.
“Those planning to go up the mountain are advised to ensure they are in good health before going for the climb to avoid untoward incidents,” he said, adding the case was classified as sudden death.
Besides the victim and his wife, he said, there were nine other climbers and three mountain porters in their group.
