KOTA KINABALU, June 8 — As search-and-rescue operations enter the third day at Mount Kinabalu, officials are not giving up hope of finding Singaporean student Navdeep Singh Jaryal Raj Kumar, 13, and teacher Mohammad Ghazi Mohamed, 35.

However, conditions on the mountains are tough and “you’ve got to be prepared for the worst”, said Dr Jamil Nais, director of Sabah Parks.

Of the pupils and teachers from Tanjong Katong Primary School on the mountain when the earthquake hit, Navdeep and Mohammad Ghazi are still missing, while the bodies of seven students and a teacher have been identified.

In an interview with TODAY at the media centre of Kundasang Park headquarters, Dr Jamil yesterday said search-and-rescue teams would not give up “until we find all the missing”.

Still, it is very cold in the mountains and from “all the body (parts) collected so far, you can read between the lines”, he said. “It’s difficult to say this, (but) you’ve got to be prepared for the worst.”

On the Singapore schools’ expedition, Dr Jamil said “nothing could have been done better”, noting that the Singaporeans found were wearing helmets and harnesses.

“They were there, then (the) earthquake (happened) and rocks, an avalanche of rocks, came crashing down upon them. Nothing could have prevented that despite all the precautions.”

Various agencies, including the police, fire and rescue, the military, as well as villagers in the area and mountain guides are involved in the search-and-rescue operations.

Chief mountain guide Richard Soibi said 122 mountain guides had been roped in for the exercise.

The search-and-rescue team, which numbers about 35, will continue combing the mountain when it starts its mission today, but will pay “particular attention” to the area where the students and teachers were found, said Dr Jamil.

On the challenges of search-and-rescue operations, he said it is dangerous as more than 60 aftershocks have occurred since the earthquake first hit.

“There are plenty of loose rocks now, so it’s very dangerous and going to the exact site ... is very dangerous,” he added.

The oxygen level on the mountain is also “very thin”, said Dr Jamil, and one can easily get tired or out of breath.

At a press conference yesterday, Sabah’s Minister for Tourism, Culture and Environment, Mr Masidi Manjun, said search-and-rescue teams are still trying to identify the body parts.

Some bodies of Singaporeans were also sent to a funeral home for preparation to be flown back after their families turned up at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital mortuary to identify them.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) is providing assistance to families of the deceased in Sabah, sending more than 14 officers, said Malar Palaiyan, senior specialist (guidance) at MOE.

There are also representatives from the national care-management system, which includes officers representing the Ministry of Social and Family Development, Singapore Armed Forces, and Institute of Mental Health.

“We are taking care of the families’ daily needs and are also providing emotional support to the grieving parents,” said Malar. — AFP