ASTANA — At least 21 people have died in a fire at a mine in Kazakhstan, owned by steel giant ArcelorMittal.

The blaze came on the same day Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev ordered investment in the company to be halted as he wants it to be nationalized.

A further 23 of the 252 people who were working at the Kostenko mine are still missing, ArcelorMittal Termitau, the local unit of the company said.

So far, 18 people have been given medical treatment.

President Tokayev, who expressed condolences to victims’ families, has distanced his Cabinet from the company.

He has called for “investment cooperation” to be halted, and the government said it was finalizing a deal to nationalize the company that runs the country’s biggest steel mill.

This is second fatal incident in last two months at a site operated by ArcelorMittal in Kazakhstan.

In August, four miners were killed after a fire broke out at the Karaganda mine.

And in November 2022, five people died and four others were hospitalized after a methane gas leak at a mine in the same area.

ArcelorMittal Temirtau owns 15 coal and ore mines in Kazakhstan.

In 2022, ArcelorMittal, a Luxembourg-based steel giant, bought Aberdeen metal recycling business John Lawrie Metals.

The company sponsored the construction of of the ArcelorMittal Orbit that stands in London’s Olympic park. — BBC