A British teen has been rescued from Mount Kinabalu after falling ill on Malaysia’s highest mountain with suspected hypothermia and altitude sickness.
The 17-year-old girl was brought down from the 4,095-metre- (13,435-foot-) high mountain safely on 16th July, according to reports.
After being given first aid, she was taken to Ranau Hospital, where her condition was last described as stable.
Her name was withheld at the time of writing, but local media reported that she is “from England”.
The Fire and Rescue Services Department in Ranau reported that the mountain search and rescue team had been called at 1.45pm local time to rescue the girl.
She was being treated at the sick bay at Panalaban at the time.
Panalaban, located at 3,272 metres (10,735 feet) above sea level, is the final pit stop before the ascent to Low’s Peak – the mountain’s summit.
According to the Fire and Rescue Services Department, the teenager was taken down part of the way on a stretcher and then taken to Timpohon Gate on piggyback.
From there, she was taken to hospital by the Emergency Medical Rescue Services.
Three mountain guides and five search-and-rescue rangers from Kinabalu Park assisted the three-man mountain search and rescue team in the operation.
After reaching the teenager, they gave her oxygen and wrapped her with a thermal blanket.
The symptoms of altitude sickness include a headache, feeling and being sick, dizziness, tiredness, loss of appetite, and shortness of breath.
Symptoms of altitude sickness usually develop between six and 24 hours after reaching altitudes more than 2,500 metres (8,202 feet) above sea level.
