Kazakhstan mourns as dozens die in mine blast

KARAGANDA, Kazakhstan — Kazakhstan was in mourning on Sunday after 42 people died in a fire in a coal mine, the worst such disaster in years.

"As of 3 pm the bodies of 42 people were found," Kazakhstan's emergency services said on social media. "The search for four miners continues."

However, the chances of finding them alive were low, rescuers warned the night before, due to a lack of ventilation in the mine and the force of Saturday's explosion, which spread over two kilometers.

The mine operator ArcelorMittal Temirtau, the local unit of the Luxembourg-based steelmaker ArcelorMittal, said 206 of 252 people at the Kostenko mine had been evacuated after what appeared to be a methane blast, Reuters reported.

Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev traveled to the scene on Saturday and ordered that cooperation with ArcelorMittal be "brought to an end". He expressed condolences to the victims' families and declared Sunday a national day of mourning.

Speaking to victims' relatives at the Karaganda mine in the country's center, Tokayev called Arcelor-Mittal "the worst enterprise in Kazakhstan's history in terms of cooperation with the government".

The government and the steel company announced a preliminary agreement to "transfer ownership of the (local) firm in favor of the Republic of Kazakhstan", Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov said.

The company said: "ArcelorMittal can confirm that the two parties have … signed a preliminary agreement for a transaction that will transfer ownership to the Republic of Kazakhstan." The company said it was committed to "finalizing this transaction as soon as possible".

Flags at half-mast

Flags were at half-mast on Sunday to mark the day of national mourning, Agence France-Presse reported.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin sent his condolences to Tokayev, saying: "Please convey words of sympathy and support to the families of the killed miners. We hope the miners that are underground will be saved."

Last month, Kazakhstan's First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar said the country was in talks with potential investors who could take over operations, Reuters reported.

The cabinet was unhappy with ArcelorMittal's failure to meet investment obligations, upgrade equipment and ensure worker safety after a series of deadly accidents, he said.

The fire was Kazakhstan's worst mining accident since 2006 when 41 miners died at an ArcelorMittal site, AFP reported. There have been five other deadly accidents at ArcelorMittal sites in Kazakhstan since last November, resulting in a total of 12 deaths.

Agencies Via Xinhua