KUALA LUMPUR - ONE person was missing and two people were injured in central Malaysia after a rock fall at a Buddhist temple cave popular with tourists, media reports said on Monday.

The Star and the New Straits Times said rescuers freed 17 people, including a Nepali and a China national, who were trapped for three hours at the Perak Cave Temple in Ipoh after the rock fall on Sunday.

The reports said the group were on a staircase to the peak of the limestone hill when boulders came crashing down, destroying the path.

Two people injured have been hospitalized but a temple security guard remained missing, the reports said. Police and local authorities couldn't be immediately reached on Monday for comments.

Perak Chief Minister Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin was quoted as saying that rescue operations had been halted temporarily due to instability of the limestone. He also ordered the popular cave temple to be closed indefinitely.

Tens of thousands of people visit the to temple each year to see some 200 paintings and calligraphy adorning the cave walls. -- AP