Singapore in mourning after students killed on Malaysia peak

 Singapore has declared Monday a day of national remembrance after at least six local students on an excursion and two adults accompanying them were killed in an earthquake on Malaysia's Mount Kinabalu, AFP reports.

"The Prime Minister is deeply saddened by the deaths of eight Singaporeans in the earthquake at Mount Kinabalu," the office of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a statement Sunday.

"On behalf of all Singaporeans, the Prime Minister expresses his deepest condolences and sympathies to their families and loved ones.

"Monday, 8 June 2015 will be a Day of National Remembrance. State flags on all government buildings will be flown at half-mast," it added.

The death toll from the disaster currently stands at 16, with two still missing.

Singapore confirmed that the bodies of six students from the Tanjong Katong Primary School had been identified.

It said a teacher and a Singaporean adventure guide perished, while another student and a teacher remain missing.

Late Sunday the education ministry said the remains of five students as well as the two adults would be repatriated later in the evening on a Singaporean military C-130 aircraft.

The remains of the sixth student, who was identified on Saturday, arrived in Singapore earlier Sunday, the Straits Times newspaper said in an online report.

A total of 29 students and eight teachers from the school were part of an excursion to the popular climbing destination, which was jolted by a 6.0-magnitude quake on Friday just as the 4,095-metre-high (13,435-foot) mountain was crowded with hikers.

The tremor triggered thunderous landslides that obliterated sections of trail on the peak in the Malaysian state of Sabah on Borneo island.

At the school on Sunday evening, some students and their families left messages of support for the families of those who had perished in the tragedy.

The government statement said a minute's silence will be observed on Monday at all Southeast Asian Games venues at the start of the competition, which Singapore is hosting.

"We hope that this collective expression of sympathy and support from all Singaporeans will give solace and comfort to the families and loved ones of the victims," it said.