Rescuers yesterday called off the search for dozens of miners missing after a deadly explosion in a coal mine, saying there was no chance of finding them alive and putting the official death toll at 30.
Rescuers recovered seven bodies straight after Friday's methane gas explosion, which erupted about 500 m underground, and began searching for 23 missing.
Kazakhstan's Emergency Situations Minister Vladimir Bashko said yesterday the fire that swept through the mine left no hope of finding survivors. He said the search was over, adding that rescuers would have to wait until the fire burns out to remove the victims' remains.
Another 14 miners were hospitalized with injuries from the blast, and many of them are in grave condition, emergency officials said.
Bashko said the cause of the explosion wasn't immediately clear. Regional prosecutors have launched a criminal probe into possible safety violations at the Abay mine in the central Karaganda region. Regional authorities have declared three days of mourning.
The Abay mine is one of eight owned by the world's largest steel-maker, Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal SA, in this Central Asian nation. The mines are part of a complex that includes the Temirtau smelter, one of the world's largest steel plants.
Lakshmi Mittal, ArcelorMittal's president and CEO, was slated to fly to the region today.
In 2006, an explosion at another Mittal-owned coal mine in the region killed 41 people. Authorities concluded the blast was a result of safety violations, and eight workers were convicted of negligence.
Arcelor Mittal operates several coal mines around the city of Karaganda. Many supply the company's steel plant in nearby Temirtau, which was among the Soviet Union's largest steel mills and is now the Central Asian country's only steel producer.
Source: China Daily/Agencies
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