Four hikers from Thailand stranded on Mount Kinabalu after an earthquake in Sabah state of Malaysia are safe, the Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.
Mount Kinabalu is photographed hours after an earthquake shook the area in Sabah state in Malaysia. (AP photo)
The ministry said it had received confirmation from the Thai embassy in Kuala Lumpur that the Thai mountaineers had been rescued. Their identities were not released.
Contact with the Thai tourists was lost on Friday when the 6.0-magnitude quake struck near the mountain popular with climbers in Ranau district of Sabah on Borneo Island at 7.15am (6.15am Thailand time).
They were among dozens of foreigners on the mountain, including hikers from Singapore, the United States, the Philippines, Britain, Turkey, China and Japan.
The death toll from the strong quake has risen to at least 11 and at least eight people remain missing. More than 170 hikers were on the mountain when the area was jolted by the quake.