More than 250 miners were in the mine when a methane gas explosion occurred. It is not the first accident in a coal mine owned by operator Arcelormittal.
At least 42 people have died in the worst mining accident in years in the Central Asian Republic of Kazakhstan. Four missing miners are still being searched after a devastating explosion in the Kostenko coal mine shaft in the area of the industrial city of Karaganda, Kazakhstan’s Civil Defense said on Sunday.
There was a methane gas explosion in the mine on Saturday morning, when more than 250 miners were underground, operator Arcelormittal announced this Saturday. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared a day of national mourning on Sunday.
Around 20 injured people had to be treated in hospital following the mine accident, it was said. Rescuers said they had little hope of finding survivors. The pressure wave from the explosion spread two kilometers along the shaft corridors, said deputy head of the state rescue service Gennady Silinski. It is also difficult to identify the dead.
Kazakh authorities accused the international steel company Arcelormittal of serious negligence in the face of the new disaster. The safety of workers was not guaranteed. President Tokayev traveled to the crash site and expressed his condolences to the families of those killed at a meeting. He promised financial help to survivors.
At the same time, Tokayev ordered the end of the partnership with investors. He placed the company under state administration and appointed a new company manager. Therefore, there must also be a change of ownership. Arcelormittal is threatened with losing its business in the resource-rich steppe state.
Repeatedly deadly incidents
In total, operations at eight Arcelormittal coal mines have been temporarily suspended to check protective devices against the mine’s highly explosive gas, it said. The company expressed condolences to the families of those killed and promised help. According to authorities, the survivors’ families will receive broad social benefits, including an apartment and compensation worth ten years’ salary at the company’s expense, as well as education for their children.
According to Arcelormittal, more than 200 of the 252 workers reached the surface of the mine shaft. It is the worst mining accident in years. There have been repeated fatal incidents in the company’s coal mines. According to official information, more than 100 people have died on Arcelormittal properties alone in the last 15 years. In 2006, 41 miners died at the Lenin coal mine, the worst accident to date. Kazakhstan, which is also rich in oil and gas, is an important supplier of raw materials to a large number of countries. (APA/dpa)