Following the greatest mining accident in recent memory that resulted in the nationalization of the company’s local affiliate, 36 workers perished in a fire at an ArcelorMittal mine on Sunday, sending the country into mourning.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations said at 10:00 am local time (0400 GMT), “the bodies of 36 miners were found and 10 workers were still being sought”.
The chances of finding them alive are, however, “very low,” the rescuers warned the night before, due to the lack of ventilation in the mine and the force of Saturday’s explosion, which spread over two kilometres.
After visiting the scene on Saturday, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev issued an order for ArcelorMittal’s partnership to be “brought to an end”.
Tokayev referred to ArcelorMittal as “the worst enterprise in Kazakhstan’s history in terms of cooperation with the government” while addressing the relatives of the victims at the Karaganda mine in the nation’s center.
According to Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, the Kazakh government and the multinational steel company have reached a preliminary deal to “transfer ownership of the (local) firm in favour of the Republic of Kazakhstan”.
“ArcelorMittal can confirm that the two parties have… signed a preliminary agreement for a transaction that will transfer ownership to the Republic of Kazakhstan,” the global steel giant stated, adding it was committed to “finalising this transaction as soon as possible.”
On Sunday, flags were at half-mast to mark the day of national mourning declared by Tokayev, an AFP correspondent saw.
About 200 miners have lost their lives in Kazakhstan since the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991, the great majority of them were at ArcelorMittal locations.
When the group first arrived in Kazakhstan in 1995, the country’s economy was in a downturn due to the breakdown of communism.
However, the authorities consistently criticized a lack of investment and insufficient safety requirements, and trade unions demanded greater government oversight.
About 15 factories and mines are operated by ArcelorMittal, an Indian businessman based in Luxembourg, in the heart of the former Soviet country.
