At least five miners were killed, four others were wounded, and one worker is still missing as a result of the catastrophe at the Lenin-named mine owned by ArcelorMittal Temirtau, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty citing the Kazakhstani Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Initially, it was said that the mining tragedy claimed the lives of four miners, but subsequently, it was revealed that one more person died.
The Ministry claims that during the drilling of a gas sewage well on November 3 at around three in the morning in the city of Shakhtinsk, methane gas leaked after which the explosion took place.
The emergency situation saw the evacuation of 106 miners in all.
At least four accident victims were poisoned by the methane gas and sustained a variety of injuries, according to the Karaganda regional health department.
Two of the patients were checked into the Makazhanov interdisciplinary hospital’s toxicology unit. According to board members, two additional persons in Shakhtinsk were exposed to methane poisoning and had varying degrees of injuries.
Due to the “violation of safety norms during mining or building operations,” the police in the Karaganda region opened a criminal investigation.
According to Akorda, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev sent his condolences to the families of the mining employees of ArcelorMittal Temirtau who passed away. The president gave the administration of the Karaganda area orders to “take immediate measures to identify the reasons for the disaster, and give adequate support to the relatives of the deceased and injured residents.”
