The 5.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Ranau, Sabah early this morning may caused casualties at the summit area of Mount Kinabalu.

At least five people on the summit area might have been hit by rockfalls after the mountain shook for nearly a minute, reported The Star .

Officials, however, declined to comment on the unconfirmed reports.

Some 100 climbers are believed to be stranded in or around the summit area.

Fire and rescue department personnel and police teams were heading towards the Mount Kinabalu park area while helicopters were being summoned to airlift stranded climbers and mountain guides.

Most of the climbers were descending after reaching the 4,095m peak before sunrise when the earthquake struck at 7.17am resulting in boulders and rocks from the granite surface sliding down.

Two chalets at Panar Laban and Laban Rata were reported damaged.

Naked tourists

A Sabahan web developer, who declined to be named, joked that the recent incident of naked, urinating tourists at the site, which locals hold sacred,  had made the 'mountain spirits mad'.

On May 30, pictures of five naked men on the mountain ­surfaced on social media followed by a picture of the 10 tourists - including four women - undressing near the south peak of Mount Kinabalu.

The incident comes in wake of a global fad which see tourists stripping at world heritage sites for a  souvenir photo.