SINGAPORE — A climber from Singapore has been found dead after going missing on Mount Kinabalu.

The body of Mr Woon Tai Kiang, 37, was found early Sunday (Oct 2) in a 150m-deep ravine near Sayat-Sayat, which is about 3,700 metres above sea level and is the last checkpoint for climbers on the way to the summit.

He was reported missing on Saturday while training for the Mount Kinabalu International Climbathon.

Ranau police chief, Deputy Superintendent (DSP) Mohd Farhan Lee Abdullah, said Mr Woon’s body was discovered at 7.30am by the Mountain Search and Rescue (Mosar) and the Sabah Parks search-and-rescue teams. 

“The body is still at Ranau Hospital and will be moved to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kota Kinabalu, for a post-mortem,” DSP Mohd Farhan told Bernama. He added that the authorities are still investigating the cause of death.

“When they realised that this guy didn’t turn up, didn’t report to us at the last checkpoint, they suspected something wrong happened,” Sabah parks guide Martin Moguring told Channel NewsAsia. “So from (Saturday) night, they tried to search for him, and they found the guy (Sunday) morning.”

Malaysian media reported that the victim was found with serious head injuries, although the extent of his injuries was initially unclear. 

Mr Woon is also known as Max Woon. In Facebook posts on Sunday, his ex-colleagues mourned the death of the avid adventure-seeker who used to work at True Fitness in Parkway Parade. Just in August, he was listed as having completed the Matterhorn Ultraks trail run in Switzerland. He is also listed as having completed a Sabah ultra marathon in August last year.

The annual Mount Kinabalu International Climbathon is due to be held on Oct 16. The event had been suspended following the earthquake on June 5 last year, where the victims included 10 Singaporeans, seven of whom were Tanjong Katong Primary School pupils.