A devastating explosion in an ArcelorMittal mine in Kazakhstan has claimed the lives of 46 miners, marking the country’s most severe industrial accident since its independence from the Soviet Union.
The bodies of 46 miners were discovered on Sunday following the lethal incident in the ArcelorMittal Kazakhstan mine, according to rescue workers. By Sunday night, the Ministry of Emergency Situations was still searching for the last missing miner, however, prospects of a live recovery were near nonexistent, as the nation mourned on its day of national grief.
The explosion occurred in the Kostenko mine in Karaganda (central Kazakhstan), adding to a growing string of tragedies at ArcelorMittal’s Kazakh sites. Consequently, the government announced plans to nationalise the local subsidiary of the global steel titan.
Upon hearing news of the accident on Saturday morning, Kazakhstan’s President, Kassym-Jomart Tokaïev, instructed to end cooperation with the ArcelorMittal group. Whilst the President did not speak out on Sunday, a documentary was aired across numerous state channels to justify the government’s actions.
In the presence of the victims’ families in Karaganda on Saturday, the President slammed ArcelorMittal as being "the worst company in the history of Kazakhstan in terms of government cooperation."
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Shortly after, the Kazakh government and the steel conglomerate, led by Indian businessman Lakshmi Mittal and based in Luxembourg, announced a preliminary agreement to "transfer the company’s ownership in favour of the Republic of Kazakhstan."
Despite this, ArcelorMittal Temirtaou (the Kazakh subsidiary), clarified on Sunday that this agreement had been signed "last week."
On Sunday, the nation was bathed in a sense of mourning, with Kazakhstan’s turquoise and golden eagle flags flying at half-mast in Karaganda and beyond, as observed by an AFP journalist.
