Death toll rises to 42 in ArcelorMittal Kazakh mine fire

The death toll from a fire at a mine owned by ArcelorMittal in Kazakhstan rose to 42 people on Sunday as a search for four miners continued, the Ministry for Emergency Situations said.

"The search operation is hampered by the presence of destroyed mining equipment, as well as rubble in some places", the ministry said in a statement.

Rescuers are searching for miners in two areas of the mine 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) apart, it said.


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

The Ministry for Emergency Situations said it was still monitoring the gas situation at the mine.

(Reporting by Mariya Gordeyeva and Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Andrew Osborn and Alexander Smith)