Sabah quake: Mountain guides arrived in Singapore to reunite with student they saved

Indeed, love and hope were in the air as three mountain guides who have been lauded as heroes following the 6.0-magnitude earthquake on June 5 touched down at Changi Airport in Singapore on Monday night.

The guides, Simon Gohinmin, Rizuan Kauhinin and Mazlee Liong, are lauded for putting other lives before theirs when they rescued Tanjong Katong Primary School (TKPS) student by El Wafeeq El Jauzy by carrying him down the 4,095-metres Mount Kinabalu. The deadly quake triggered rockslides on the mountain, killing 18 climbers – including 10 from Singapore.

Seven of the school students were Wafeeq’s schoolmates from TKPS.

News portal, Channel NewsAsia on Monday reported that it was their maiden trip out of Malaysia for the guides, as part of a CNA documentary titled, ‘Heart of Courage’.

The documentary producer, Yan Zixin was quoted as saying that the guides were grateful for the opportunity. Zixin also added that he had spent the last five days with the guides learning about their lives as mountain guides.

Rizuan, who with his two other compatriots, was all smiles as they received warm welcome by the survivors’ families and media personnel. Rizuan was decked in a green T-shirt and a bandana – a getup that seemed similar to that attire he wore during his harrowing ordeal atop Mount Kinabalu.

The trio did not seem perturbed by the long journey they had to endure to travel to Singapore. It was reported their journey on Monday started as early as 7am – getting on the bus from Rizuan’s village in Kampung Lobong Lobong to Kota Kinabalu International Airport.

Rizuan and his two contemporaries will be attending a closed door session with the two students and their families Tuesday.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced that the government will confer awards to the mountain guides who showed outstanding bravery and sacrificed their own safety in rescuing victims trapped on Mount Kinabalu in the Ranau earthquake disaster on June 5.