- China says will issue special bonds to boost ailing economy
- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Dodgers drop Padres 2-0 to advance in MLB playoffs
- Alexei Navalny wrote he knew he would die in prison in new memoir
- Last-minute legal ruling allows betting on US election
- Despite hurricanes, Floridians refuse to leave 'paradise'
- Israel observes Yom Kippur amid firestorm over Lebanon strikes
- Trump demonizes migrants in dark, misleading speech
- X says 'alert' to manipulation efforts after pro-Russia bots report
- US, European markets rise before Boeing unveils sweeping job cuts
- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Comoros shock Tunisia, Salah, Mbeumo strike in AFCON qualifiers
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Germany win in Nations League as 10-man Dutch rescue point
- Undav brace sends Germany to victory against Bosnia
- Israel says fired at 'threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- Ecuador's last mountain iceman dies at 80
- Milton leaves at least 16 dead, millions without power in Florida
- Senegal set to announce breakaway development agenda: PM
- UN says 2 peacekeepers wounded in south Lebanon explosions
- Injury-hit Australia thrash 'embarrassing' Pakistan at Women's T20 World Cup
- Internal TikTok documents show prioritization of traffic over well-being
- Israel says fired at 'immediate threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- New US coach Pochettino hails Pulisic but worries over workload
- Brazil orders closure of 2,000 betting sites
- UK govt urged to raise pro-democracy tycoon's case with China
- Sculptor Lalanne's animal creations sell for $59 mn
- From Tesla to Trump: Behind Musk's giant leap into politics
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- Supercharged hurricanes trigger 'perfect storm' for disinformation
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Djokovic proves staying power as he progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Sheffield Utd boss Wilder 'numb' after Baldock death
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- Fans immerse themselves in Marina Abramovic's first China exhibition
- Israel says conducting review after UN peacekeepers wounded in Lebanon
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Djokovic 'overwhelmed' after 'greatest rival' Nadal's retirement
- Zelensky in Berlin says hopes war with Russia will end next year
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Djokovic proves staying power as progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Hurricane Milton leaves at least 16 dead as Florida cleans up
- Britain face 'ultimate challenge' in America's Cup duel with New Zealand
- Lebanon calls for 'immediate' ceasefire in Israel-Hezbollah war
- Nihon Hidankyo: Japan's A-bomb survivors awarded Nobel
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Boat captain rescued clinging to cooler in Gulf of Mexico after storm Milton
Kazakhstan mourns for 45 dead in ArcelorMittal mine disaster
Kazakhstan held nationwide mourning on Sunday after 45 people died in a blaze at an ArcelorMittal mine, the worst accident in the Central Asian country's post-Soviet history.
The tragedy, which struck at the Kostenko coal mine in the Karaganda region Saturday, came after a series of deadly incidents at ArcelorMittal mines and has prompted the nationalisation of the company's local affiliate.
"As of 3 pm (0900 GMT) the bodies of 42 people were found," Kazakhstan's emergency services said on social media.
"The search for four miners continues."
Later, authorities said the bodies of three others had been found and rescuers were searching for the last miner missing, with little hope of finding him alive.
Rescuers earlier warned that chances of finding the remaining miners alive were "very low", due to the lack of ventilation and the force of Saturday's explosion, which spread over two kilometres (1.2 miles).
The previous deadliest mine accident in post-Soviet Kazakhstan occurred in 2006, killing 41 miners at another ArcelorMittal site. It came just two months after another incident killed five miners.
Anger and disbelief reigned after the disaster in Karaganda, central Kazakhstan.
"Every miner is a hero, because when he goes down, he does not know if he will come back or not," said former miner Sergei Glazkov.
Many welcomed the government's move towards nationalisation, angered by the company's safety record.
Daniar Mustafin, a 42-year-old salesman, said he favoured "full nationalisation without material compensation for the current owners".
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has ordered cooperation with the Luxembourg-based company to be "brought to an end."
- 'Worst' company in 'Kazakhstan's history' -
Speaking to victims' relatives at the mine, Tokayev called ArcelorMittal "the worst enterprise in Kazakhstan's history in terms of cooperation with the government".
The Kazakh government and the steel giant announced a preliminary agreement to "transfer ownership of the (local) firm in favour of the Republic of Kazakhstan", Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov stated.
"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.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, about 200 miners have died in Kazakhstan, the vast majority at ArcelorMittal sites.
- 'His guardian angel saved him' -
There were 252 people inside the mine when the fire started, ArcelorMittal said.
Outside a hospital in Karaganda, relatives of those who had survived the blast were thanking the heavens.
"His guardian angel saved him. He is alive," said Nikolai Bralin, the brother of an injured miner.
"Two of his ribs were slightly torn apart from the blow and he had surgery to put them back in place," he added.
Local politicians also called for the immediate nationalisation of the company.
"They must answer before court because they did not ensure people's safety," said local MP Kudaibergen Beksultanov.
"The state needs to take it upon itself now."
"In order for people not to die, the government needs to oversee the process and that there be criminal responsibility," Alexei Svistunov, a 48-year-old security guard, told AFP in Karaganda.
The group's arrival in Kazakhstan in 1995 was initially seen as a beacon of hope during the economic slump that followed the fall of communism.
But a lack of investment and inadequate safety standards were repeatedly criticised by the authorities, while trade unions called for tighter government control.
ArcelorMittal, led by Indian businessman Lakshmi Mittal, operates some 15 factories and mines in the centre of the former Soviet republic.
L.Davis--AMWN