Following the mine
fire, 28 people were taken to hospitals in the Karagandy region, with 24 of
them admitted for medical treatment, and most of them are in a moderate
condition. All relevant services are involved in providing medical assistance
in the region, with doctors conducting consultations with specialists from
national centers specializing in traumatology, orthopedics, and neurosurgery.
Earlier, Kazakh Minister for Emergency Situations Syrym Sharipkhanov descended
into the mine to inspect the incident site. According to rescuers, the gas
situation is currently stable, and there are no new fire outbreaks. The rescue
operations involve a total of 55 mine rescuers and 15 units of equipment, along
with 21 people and seven specialized vehicles dedicated to delivering emergency
medical aid. In the meantime, the causes of the accident are being
investigated, and those responsible are being identified. On the first day of
the incident, Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov held a meeting of the
Commission for investigating the causes and eliminating the consequences of the
fire at the mine in the Karagandy region. In accordance with the instructions
of the Head of State, the provision of all necessary assistance to the families
of the deceased workers of the ArcelorMittal Temirtau (AMT) mining company is
under the special supervision of the Government.
“Social benefits
for the families of the victims would be provided from the national budget,
social insurance and a life insurance company. The total monthly average amount
of payments will be 400,000-500,000 tenge until the dependents reach the age of
18, or until the age of 23 if the children are pursuing higher education. For
the time being, all payments will be provided through the ArcelorMittal
Temirtau. The company is obliged to pay the risks of the annual payment in
accordance with the collective agreement,” said Svetlana Zhakupova, Kazakh
Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population.
Change in ownership of ArcelorMittal Temirtau to not impact commitments to employees
It bears noting that the Kazakh Ministry of Industry and Construction was instructed to take measures to complete the procedures for transferring the enterprise to the country.
“On the
instructions of the Head of State, negotiations were conducted regarding the
withdrawal of the current AMT shareholders from the shareholding structure. As
a result of these negotiations, at the end of October, agreements were reached
on the terms of transferring ownership of the enterprise to the country. This
information was confirmed in an AMT press release. The final legal processing
of the transaction is currently underway, and will be concluded in the near
future,” said Kanat Sharlapayev, Kazakh Minister of Industry and Construction.
Meanwhile, the
change in leadership at ArcelorMittal Temirtau will have no impact on the
commitments to the employees, as was stated by the recently appointed Director
General of the company, Vadim Basin. According to him, payment terms and social
benefits will be maintained, and, if changed, it will only be for the better.
The new leadership’s immediate focus will be on enhancing the level of work
safety and modernizing the core production assets.
“President Tokayev
announced the termination of relations with the company’s investor during a
meeting with the families of the deceased and injured miners. No employee will
face dismissal, and their rights will remain unaffected. Regarding coal mines,
our initial focus will be on enhancing safety conditions within the operations,
ensuring the safety of the miners’ work, and modernizing the core assets of the
coal mines,” Vadim Bassin, ArcelorMittal Temirtau Director General, said.
It is worth reminding that the explosion at the Kostenko mine occurred on October 28 at a depth of 700 meters, and the shockwave extended over a distance of more than two kilometers. At the time of the incident, 252 people were inside the mine.
