KOTA KINABALU: Croatian mountaineer Mauro Persic has described his survival on Mount Kinabalu as a gruelling nine-day battle after becoming lost during an illegal trek into the remote, uncharted eastern side of Malaysia’s highest peak.
Persic revealed that physical injuries were the least of his troubles. He admitted coming close to giving up, even after making visual contact with the rescue team.
Persic’s ordeal began when he slipped and fell about 10 meters down a steep slope. After using a weak cell phone signal to contact emergency services, he spent several days trapped in a narrow gully with minimal shelter, no food, and only a nearby stream for drinking water.
His situation worsened when heavy rain triggered a flash flood through the gully.
"Perhaps from the shock, I was getting so tired and sleepy that I had a sudden urge to let go. It appeared suddenly so easy just to let go," Persic wrote in a social media post, recounting how his sleeping bag was swept away and how he clung to a sling attached to a rock projection for two hours to avoid being washed off the mountain.
Describing the experience as the closest he had ever come to death, Persic recounted experiencing severe physical strain, bleeding wounds, constant rain, swarming flies, and vivid hallucinations.
"Several times I got up from under my shelter and started walking, only to realise there was nowhere to go," he said.
Persic also recounted unsettling encounters on the mountain's eastern plateau. On his fourth day, he heard what he described as a "diabolic primate screech."
“There I saw it for the first time. It looks like a huge wild goat, but I've been told it's some sort of deer, and then this shriek from hell again,” Persic wrote, adding that he did not wish to disturb the mountain, which local indigenous tradition holds as the resting place of ancestral spirits.
Relief finally came on the eighth day when mountain rescuers reached his location.
“Luis Jai Matuas, my rescue hero, reached me in the morning—the first human in eight days. What a joy and relief. He brought me a hot drink and biscuits, and I was in heaven again,” Persic wrote, praising the rescue member who rappelled into the gully to reach him.
Extracting Persic required an all-day effort by a team using stretchers and rope-haul systems to lift him back to the plateau near Red Rock on Sept 10.
“Once on the plateau, another rescue team joined and started a campfire and hot food,” he shared. “Everyone was so kind, giving me chocolate, snacks, fags [cigarettes], and taking care of me. I was touched. They dressed my heel wound and gave me noodles in a tin can—possibly the best meal of my life.”
Reflecting on his decision, the London-based climber acknowledged the immense risk he took and the burden placed on local authorities.
“I was playing Russian roulette, with the mountain being a revolver and gullies bullets. I took too many shots and got what I deserved,” Persic wrote. “Was it all worth it? I don't know. Probably not. A broken body, and 40 people risking their lives to save one. But still, I've seen the very best of humanity showing up these days: generosity, kindness, and care.”
Persic was treated for broken ribs and a leg injury at a private hospital before being discharged on Sept 18. His unauthorised trek resulted in a RM25,000 fine from Sabah Parks for trespassing without a permit.
Pictures shared by Mauro Persic of the eastern side of Mount Kinabalu.
Mauro Persic finding shelter in Mount Kinabalu eastern side.
Pictures shared by Mauro Persic of the eastern side of Mount Kinabalu.
Pictures shared by Mauro Persic of the eastern side of Mount Kinabalu.
Mauro Persic (centre) with his rescuers
