On the morning of October 28, the press service of ArcelorMittal Temirtau (AMT), the owner of the enterprise, reported about the explosion in the mine.

“According to the assumptions, an explosion of methane gas took place in the lava,” the report reads.

The company said there were 252 miners underground at the time of the incident, of which 206 were brought to the surface. The search for 16 more people is ongoing, the Ministry of Emergency Situations clarified.

The Prosecutor General’s Office of Kazakhstan has announced the start of a pre-trial investigation on the violation of safety regulations in the course of mining or construction work.

After the incident, the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, went to the Karaganda region, where he met with relatives of the dead miners and expressed his condolences, Akorda reported.

The head of state instructed the government to stop investment cooperation with ArcelorMittal Temirtau. A government commission was formed to determine the causes of the incident.

Tokayev also announced October 29 as a national mourning day in memory of the victims of the incident.