Kota Kinabalu: A 46-year-old Croatian climber who went missing on Mount Kinabalu was located alive on the second day of a search and rescue operation on Monday, after fire and rescue personnel made contact with him and confirmed that he had sustained several injuries.
The Fire and Rescue Department said the climber, identified as Mauro Persic (pic), reported suffering from a swollen and numb heel, suspected rib fractures, pain in his lower back and hip area, as well as a deep wound on his calf.
Fire and rescue teams managed to contact Persic by telephone at 2.05pm on Monday, more than a day after an emergency call was received through the NGMERS999 hotline at 5.10pm on Sunday, reporting that a foreign climber had fallen during his ascent.
According to the department, Persic was believed to have climbed via a village trail that was not managed by Sabah Parks, instead of the official route up Mount Kinabalu.
Rescuers initially faced difficulties locating Persic as he had made the emergency call using a foreign telephone number and did not respond to attempts to contact him via WhatsApp.
His exact location also could not be immediately confirmed, with Sabah Parks reporting discrepancies in the coordinates provided and stating that the climber did not appear to be on Mount Kinabalu itself.
On the second day of the operation, personnel from the Ranau Fire and Rescue Station and the STORM team held a briefing with Sabah Parks to coordinate the search strategy before widening the search area based on new leads and in cooperation with other agencies.
Search efforts were focused along established climbing routes and areas identified as possible locations for the missing climber.
Following contact with Persic, fire and rescue teams were dispatched to his location to carry out the rescue operation and bring him to safety for further medical treatment.
The operation involved 19 personnel, comprising four from the Fire Rescue Team (FRT-1), two from the Emergency Medical Rescue Services and 13 from the Vigo-4 unit.
The department said further updates on the operation would be issued as they become available.
