The operation to locate two Singaporeans listed as missing at Mt Kinabalu following Friday's earthquake that hit Ranau has to be temporarily put on hold due to foggy conditions.
Ranau Police Chief Deputy Superintendent DSP Farhan Lee Abdullah called off the mission at about 5.30pm on Monday.
He said DNA tests on body parts believed to belong to the two missing would be speeded up to bring some closure to the search and rescue effort.
"As of today, the number of deaths still remains at 16," he told reporters, here.
Farhan also said 12 bodies have so far been claimed by family members.
Sabah is also considering the possibility of only allowing children aged above 15 years to climb Mount Kinabalu in the wake of the death of six children in Friday's quake.
State education director Jame Alip said he had spoken about the matter to state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Masidi Manjun, who is also the state executive councillor in charge of education.
Meantime Malaysian authorities have received DNA from families of the two Singaporeans missing. The DNA samples were taken from one of the families in Kota Kinabalu, and information on the other was received via email. Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the process of DNA matching will take time. In the meantime, the search and rescue operation will continue, until the DNA matching is done and victims are identified.
On Sunday, Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun told reporters that 16 bodies had been recovered while two people were still classified as missing until post-mortem examinations were completed.
Those confirmed killed as a result of the 5.9-magnitude quake, that also rocked Southeast Asia's highest peak, were six Malaysians, seven Singaporeans, a Filipino, a Chinese national and a Japanese national. The two missing Singaporeans are a teacher and a pupil.
In Kota Kinabalu, several family members were seen waiting in a special room at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital where identification and post-mortem examinations were being conducted on the remains brought there.
Tuesday 9 June 2015
http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=100423
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/search-for-two-missing/1902186.html
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