Survivors of 2015 Sabah quake want to summit Mt Kinabalu
On June 5, 2015, a 6.0-magnitude earthquake hit Sabah – the same time a group of climbers from Singapore comprising 29 pupils from Tanjong Katong Primary School, teachers and guides were on Mount Kinabalu.
Of the Singapore group, seven pupils, two teachers and a guide were killed.
On the 10th anniversary of the tragedy next year, survivors Emyr Uzayr Mohamed Sadri dan El Wafeeq El-Jauzy will climb Mount Kinabalu and hope to reach its summit.
"We hope to get a closure with the climb," Mr Emyr told Berita Harian.
"We want to get the others in the group to join us but we have lost touch with everyone, so it is quite tough to rally them."
Mr Emyr and Mr Wafeeq, both 20, have come to terms with the tragedy but it still crosses their minds every now and then.
The duo were part of the school group comprising 29 Primary 6 pupils and eight teachers. They were to climb the 4,095m mountain under the school's leadership programme Omega Challenge.
Five pupils stayed behind as they felt unwell while the rest of the group started their trek at about 4.30am, going up Mount Kinabalu via the "Walk the Torq" route that had fixed cables, ladders and bridges.
The earthquake hit Ranau in Sabah at 7.15am and lasted for 30 seconds. It claimed a total of 18 lives including the 10 Singaporeans.
Mr Emyr shared: "We talk to each other about the tragedy, that is how we deal with it. The incident no longer affects us and we hope to get our closure."
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