Death toll from ArcelorMittal mine fire in Kazakhstan rises to 38

(Reuters) – The death toll from a fire at a mine owned by ArcelorMittal in Kazakhstan rose to 38 people on Sunday, and a search operation for eight miners continued, the Ministry for Emergency Situations said on Sunday.

“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.

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; Editing by Andrew Osborn)