Stories Of Service And Sacrifice: 12 Photos Of Local Mountain Guides Going All The Way

In the aftermath of the quake that shook Mt Kinabalu, these local heroes came to the rescue, assisting the stranded and weakened climbers back to safety amidst the damaged trail and in the darkness.

In this photograph dated 5 June 2015, a mountain guide is seen helping his colleague with his gear as their group prepares to climbMt Kinabalu to rescue those trapped there from the earthquake

The death toll from Friday's quake has reached 11 so far, with local mountain guides, who spend their days either bringing people or cargo up the mountain, being instrumental in bringing back the injured, the weak and the deceased through chaotic conditions

Image via Gerai OAMountain guides carrying an injured climber to safety after the quake trapped over 200 climbers there.

Seen here is an amazing photo of guide Rizuan bringing down an injured climber, on his back, through treacherous terrain last night

Image via Sabah ParksHe has been hailed as an unsung hero by people on social media.

The photo of mountain guide Rizuan Kauhinin, posted on Sabah Park’s Facebook page, has garnered over 9,000 Likes and 890 shares after three hours.

Rizuan Kauhinin was later also photographed as one of six people carrying a stretcher with a Singaporean boy who had sustained a shoulder injury.

Robbi Sapinggi, a 30-year-old mountain guide from Kampung Kiau, succumbed to head injuries in the aftermath of the earthquake

Robbi was hit by falling rocks at Mt Kinabalu when he was accompanying one of the Amazing Borneo climber. Despite being injured, Robbi's only thought was for the welfare of his guest, urging him to continue ahead to climb down the mountain to safety. He bravely chose to remain alone and wait for help rather than to put the guest's life at further risk.

Unfortunately, Robbi was unable to make it down the mountain in time to receive proper medical attention and he died due to loss of blood, Amazing Borneo posted on its Facebook page.

Sabahan Mia Meara said on Facebook that the mountain guides went above and beyond their duties. "It’s not an easy task and sometimes a thankless job: we salute and appreciate all your efforts as some of you are currently still ascending/descending the mountain."

"These are the real heroes, our mountain guides. They bring down the injured on their backs. Sophisticated helicopters that cost millions are rendered useless in these conditions," said Facebook user Banie Lasimbang.

Robbi has been a dedicated member of the Mt Kinabalu team for the past two years and always brought good experiences to climbers. As a tribute to this unsung hero, who gave up his life while trying to save someone else's, Coalition Duchenne uploaded a video on its YouTube channel, remembering Robbi's compassion:

As the earth beneath Mt Kinabalu shook yesterday, a group of 30 mountain guides geared up to execute a rescue mission of stranded climbers up there. Most of them are locals, mainly Dusuns of Ranau.

And they came back with injured climbers

The mountain guides are risking their lives in order to continue the rescue mission. This is one of the trails they have to go through.

While these mountain guides have climbed Mt Kinabalu countless times before, it's still a risky mission. However, these local mountain guides have been trained to deal with the mountain terrains.

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One local mountain guide is seen comforting an injured climber

Shaken and in a state of shock, a mountain guide, who had just led his group down to the safety of Timpohon Gate, one of the two main starting points for any climb to the peak, shared his story:

"I heard a woman screaming for help, I could not do anything. The earth was shaking. I had to get my group down fast because rocks were rolling down everywhere.

Boulders, some as big as a car, were crashing down along with rocks. We ran down. I really don’t know what happened to the woman. She might be buried under rocks."

Veteran guide Freddie Akau, who returned to the base at about 11pm last night with a Korean couple, was responsible for guiding them up the mountain and was only worried about their safety

“I wasn’t really afraid for myself because I’m used to conditions up there. But our concern was making sure the climbers were safe and did not freak out.

We were told that rescue helicopters would come to get us but people were getting angry and frustrated the longer we were up there. There are now cracks and fallen rocks along the trail, making most of it too dangerous to use, so we have to find alternative routes back down before darkness fell,” he said. themalaymailonline.com

Being a mountain guide is at times a thankless job, one which puts the lives of these guides at a greater risk. We take this opportunity to salute all these unsung heroes of Friday's quake.

沙巴6級地震後 真正的英雄們冒死上山救援！

6月5日的一場地震，過百名登山客受困沙巴神山。他們都急著下山，但卻有一批人冒死上山，為的就是救出受困者……

Sabah quake: Acclaim pours in for guide who died aiding victims

Robbi Sapinggi will go down in local history as the hero of the devastating June 5 earthquake after he placed the safety of the climber he was accompanying before his own despite being critically injured by falling rocks.

Even in his dying moments, his only thoughts were for the climber whom he advised to descend Mount Kinabalu as fast as possible.

The 31-year-old, who was bleeding profusely, had also indicated to the person that he wanted to help others who might be on their way down the steep slope.

An Amazing Borneo employee, Ms Lynn Tiang, who related Sapinggi’s last moments after hearing accounts from witnesses, said the veteran guide and the climber were well on their way down when the earthquake struck and he was hit by falling rocks.

“Despite being hit, he instructed the climber to descend first, prioritising the person’s safety before his,” she added.

She said she was told that Sapinggi had wanted to wait for a rescue team and not attempt a descent on his own.

Sapinggi, from Kampung Kiau, Ranau, is believed to have waited for about five hours before deciding to slide down the rocky slope.

“When the rescue team found him, he was barely alive. He died moments later,” she added.

Sapinggi’s heroic exploits that fateful day when he proved himself a friend to all who climbed the famed mountain have gone viral on the Amazing Borneo Facebook page with 26,400 ‘likes’ and 5,800 shares since the 7.15am incident on Friday (June 5).

Many described the ‘Kadazan-Dusun’ as one who always put the safety and interests of others before his in the 11 years he had been scaling the highest peak in South-east Asia, first as an assistant and in the past two years as a licensed guide.

只有響導救命！登山客怒气炮轟：官方救災史上最差！

新闻来源：人民邮报

一名外籍登山客抨击我国在沙巴地震时，所采取的紧急应对机制如同一场闹剧，并狠批当局的救援行动总是不到位！

这名来自澳洲的登山客威金顿劳（Vee Jin Dumlao）表示，大马救援行动缓慢，救援人员完全不懂处理危机，唯有依靠响导，他们总是尽心尽力地协助受困者。 “那些救灾人员围在一块抽烟、吃着给受困者的救灾食品，我们忍着天寒地冻等了9个小时还是不见直升机踪影。”

■错误投放物资雪上加霜
根据《大马内幕者》报导，她接受澳洲ABC媒体采访时表示，地震发生时，他和其他登山客位于顶峰，但地震摧毁了下山路，导致他们只能在山顶等待救援。

“但大马救援队伍当时却指天气恶劣，直升机无法登顶而放弃当日的救援行动，那时候还是早晨，他们却以这个理由拒绝救援登山客。”

“在下午4时左右天气放晴，但他们（救援人员）却让我们在山顶挨饿过夜，且若下雨的话，我们还需面对潜在的洪水危机。”

“后来直升机送来了两箱救援物资，但他们却投放错误位置，将物资抛在山上无法攀爬的滑坡碎石地，而我们却站在一片空地上遥望物资。”

■放弃等待响导负伤领路

她指出，当时天气越来越冷，甚至下起了下雨，直至凌晨1时大家都没有进食，最终响导放弃等待政府救援，决定自己带领所有人走下山。 威金顿劳也表示，响导冒着生命危险，作出这个艰难的决定，并拯救了他们所有人的性命。

“他们自己也是受灾户，在这场地震失去了至亲、挚友，他们可以直接快速地下山，但响导仍敬业地陪伴我们，护我们周全，直到我们安全抵达山脚。” “我亲眼看见的响导，为了带领我们下山而被乱世击中受伤，他们都不是当局派来的救援人员。”

她也指出，登山客们应该感谢响导无私的协助，但却无法去尊重大马政府在地震时间所作出的应对方式。 沙巴发生地震至今，当局已确认有13人身亡，其中新加坡籍遇难有8人。

Aussie climber details Mt Kinabalu rescue by local guides

Australian Vee Jin Dumlao was among 137 climbers atop Mount Kinabalu in Sabah at dawn when a 5.9 magnitude earthquake rocked the state two days ago.

The 7.15am quake hit Ranau, approximately 20km from the Mount Kinabalu park, with the tremors felt in Tambunan, Pedalaman, Tuaran, Kota Kinabalu and Kota Belud.

Dumlao, a clinical psychologist from Sydney told the ABC that panic set in when the earthquake had destroyed their route back.

"We had just completed the ascent to the peak, and we were making our descent, taking some photos when we heard a loud crash, and felt the ground shaking," she was quoted as saying.

"When our guide took our empty water bottles to be refilled, at perhaps 1pm... they came back with news of massive landslides and the route having been decimated and no certainty of rescue."

Malaysian authorities had said over 200 climbers were trapped on the mountain and added that it could not land a rescue helicopter due to bad weather.

“Fog was quoted as the reason for not rescuing the climbers. That was certainly true earlier in day.

“But the sky cleared beautifully and the air was still by 4pm but they were determined to leave us up there overnight in cold hunger and potential flash-flooding if it rained,” Dumlao wrote on her Facebook page.

“Helicopters came to drop off two boxes of supplies but they dropped off over the cliffs onto inaccessible landslide rubble when there was a huge expanse they could have aimed for.”

She also called the Malaysian government's emergency response a farce.

“They (emergency workers) congregated in groups sharing smokes and food that were meant for survivors. Help at the critical areas didn't arrive till 9 hours later.”

Instead, she hailed the local mountain guides as rescue heroes.

“They risked life and limb and made some difficult decisions that ultimately saved our lives. Many had homes affected in the quake.

“They lost friends and family. Yet they remained with us, guiding us to safety till the very end.

“They could have made it down the mountain quickly on their own with their agility. Yet they stayed and did what they could to meet our needs. They risked continuing tremors and rockfalls to refill our bottles with water from the nearest hut.” she said on Facebook.

“I witnessed guides, not emergency workers, securing the injured onto stretchers which they carry down the mountain.”

ABC reported that Dumlao and her travelling partner made the perilous trek, followed by the other climbers, down to Laban Rata, a small village rest stop halfway up Mount Kinabalu.

Yesterday, Malaysian authorities confirmed that 13 climbers were dead. – June 7, 2015.


Read more :
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-07/australian-climber-describes-rescue-from-mt-kinabalu-quake/6527618
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/07/world/malaysia-kinabalu-quake/index.html