Coal mine operator to be nationalised after fire leaves 32 workers dead

Ambulances parked at the coal mine in Karaganda where 32 workers died (AP/PA)

Kazakhstan has confirmed the nationalisation of ArcelorMittal Temirtau – which operates the country’s largest steel plants and several coal and ore mines – following a coal mine fire that killed at least 32 workers while another 14 remain unaccounted for.

Some 252 people were working at the Kostenko coal mine in the Karaganda region at the time of the blaze, officials said.