On the morning of 28 October 2023, a fire started at the Kostenko mine in the

Karaganda Region Karaganda Region (; ) is a region of Kazakhstan. Its capital is Karaganda. The region borders Akmola and Pavlodar Region to the north, Abai Region to the east, Jetisu, Almaty, and Zhambyl Regions to the south, and Kostanay and Ulytau regio ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

. The fire killed 46 miners. The fire was presumably caused by a

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The abundance of methane on Earth makes ...

gas explosion A gas explosion is the Combustion, ignition of a mixture of air and flammable gas, typically from a gas leak. In household accidents, the principal explosive gases are those used for heating or cooking purposes such as natural gas, methane, propan ...

underground. The

President of Kazakhstan The president of Kazakhstan, officially the president of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the executive head of state of the Kazakhstan and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan. As the highest-ranking official ...

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev (born 17 May 1953) is a Kazakhstani politician and diplomat who has served as the second president of Kazakhstan since 2019. He previously served as Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Prime Minister from 1999 to 2002 ...

, ordered the termination of all investment with the company

ArcelorMittal Temirtau Qarmet, previously known as Ispat Karmet, Mittal Steel Temirtau, and ArcelorMittal Temirtau, is a Kazakhstani integrated steel and mining company that owns the Karaganda Metallurgical Plant in Temirtau, Karaganda Region, the largest steel plant in ...

, which owns the mine, and 29 October was declared a

national day of mourning A national day of mourning is a day, or one of several days, marked by mourning and memorial activities observed among the majority of a country's populace. They are designated by the national government. Such days include those marking the deat ...

in Kazakhstan.

Background

The Kostenko mine is a

coal mine Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

owned by ArcelorMittal Temirtau, a subsidiary of Luxembourg-based steel manufacturing company ArcelorMittal, through multiple acquisitions that began with Ispat Steel purchasing the mine from the Kazakh government in 1995. The subsidiary owns the largest

metallurgical Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the ...

plants in Kazakhstan, as well as eight

coal mines Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

and two iron ore mines. Over 100 people have died at ArcelorMittal Temirtau facilities over 15 years. Authorities had already expressed dissatisfaction with the company's failure to fulfill its investment commitments, modernize equipment, and ensure worker safety. Two months before the fire, an accident occurred at another of the company's mines, the Kazakhstanskaya mine, which resulted in the death of five people. After the accident at Kazakhstanskaya, government authorities stated that they had decided to

nationalise Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with priv ...

the operation.

Fire

28 October

At 02:33 ALMT at the Kostenko mine, a fire occurred at a level located about deep. At the time of the incident, 252 people were in the mine, 205 of whom were brought to the surface. 18 people received medical assistance. Initially, four dead bodies were found, and three more were later discovered. 15 of the injured experienced

carbon monoxide poisoning Carbon monoxide poisoning typically occurs from breathing in carbon monoxide (CO) at excessive levels. Symptoms are often described as " flu-like" and commonly include headache, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Large ...

. At 14:00, the bodies of 22 miners were found. A professional military rescue service helped with emergency rescue operations. By 16:00, the death toll had increased to 32 people. Later that night, at a briefing in

Karaganda Karaganda (, ; ), also known as Karagandy (, ; ; ) (also sometimes romanized as Qaraghandy), is a major city in central Kazakhstan and the capital of the Karaganda Region. It is the fifth most populous city in the country, with a population o ...

, it was said that the 13 people who had not yet been found had little chance of survival and that a fire from a coal furnace caused the disaster. The high death toll was the result of a subsequent gas explosion. By 19:00, the fire had been extinguished and the mine was safe for rescue work. The poor state of the recovered bodies made them challenging to identify.

29 October

In the morning, rescuers found four more bodies, with the death toll reaching 36. Twenty-nine bodies were brought to the surface, leaving 11 people still missing. At 14:00, the number of dead miners reached 38 people. Nine people remained missing from the mine. By 15:00, the bodies of 42 miners had been found, and the search for four miners continued. By 17:00, the number found had reached 45. One miner still remained unaccounted for and was presumed dead.

30 October

According to the HOLA news agency, the 46th and last missing body of a miner was found in the coal mine,

DNA tests Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

will be conducted to determine the identity of the deceased miners.

Aftermath

A government commission was established to determine the causes of the disaster. The Prosecutor General's Office of Kazakhstan opened a criminal case into the incident under Part 3 of Article 277 of the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan (violation of safety rules during mining or construction work). President Tokayev visited the mine and ordered the termination of all investment with the company, and 29 October was declared a day of national mourning in the country. The ownership rights of ArcelorMittal Temirtau were set to be transferred to the government. According to the Prime Minister's official website, 20 injured miners were treated at the Makazhanov hospital. According to the Karaganda regional

health department A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entity, Subnational entities, such as State (administrative division), states, county, counties an ...

's bulletin published on 29 October, 28 people were taken to the hospital, 20 gas-poisoned people were slightly and moderately injured, one patient with various injuries was in the

intensive care unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensive care medicine. An inten ...

in a stable condition, one person was in

traumatology In medicine, traumatology (from Greek ''trauma'', meaning injury or wound) is the study of wounds and injuries caused by accidents or violence to a person, and the surgical therapy and repair of the damage. Traumatology is a branch of medicine. ...

in moderate condition, two miners were hospitalized in the Shakhtinsk center in moderate condition, and four people were sent to outpatient treatment. According to the Ministry of Emergencies published at 15:21, the bodies of 42 people were found, and four people are still being searched for. Relatives of the victims of the disaster complained about the slowness of the search, and the representative of the emergency services explained that this was due to the fact that some parts of the mine were flooded, and therefore the search was difficult.

Settlement

Survivors benefits will be provided to families of victims from three sources: the republican budget, social insurance, and life insurance companies. The average payment will be ₸400,000–500,000 (roughly US$1,000) per month until dependents reach the age of 18, or 23 if they are studying in a higher educational institution. ArcelorMittal Temirtau will secure the payment of all funds.

References

{{Reflist, 30em ArcelorMittal 2023 disasters in Kazakhstan 2023 fires in Asia

Mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

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