KOTA KINABALU: A local woman experienced health complications and died while climbing down Mount Kinabalu.
It was believed that the 54-year-old victim had become weak and suffered from hypothermia at KM8 of the summit trail on Thursday (Aug 29).
Ranau Fire and Rescue station chief Ridwan Mohd Taib said they were alerted of the incident at 11.24am.
The rescue team and the mountain guide of the victim, he said, had requested backup from Sabah Parks and the department’s mountain search and rescue (Mosar) unit to help with rescue efforts.
He said the victim was then brought to the sick bay at the Panalaban resthouse for further treatment, adding she was given oxygen support and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), with the help of an automated external defibrillator (AED).
He said, however, the woman was still unconscious, adding the Mosar team, Sabah Parks personnel and mountain guides subsequently carried her using a stretcher down to the Timpohon Gate, which is the starting point to scale the 4,101m-high mountain.
“But on arrival there, the victim was pronounced dead after being examined by a medical officer from the Health Ministry,” Ridwan said, when contacted.
The body was then handed over to the police for the next course of action, he said, adding the operation ended at 8.35pm.
