By DPA
Moscow : The death toll in the coalmine explosion in Kazakhstan rose to 30 after rescue workers called off the search for 23 missing miners, officials said Monday.
The Interfax news agency cited Kazakh Civil Defence Minister Vladimir Boshko, visiting the site at the city of Karaganda, as saying that the shaft where the explosion took place was now filled up with water.
The methane gas explosion in the mine belonging to steel giant ArcelorMittal, world’s largest steel maker, took place Friday. Seven miners were initially declared dead and 161 miners were rescued, but 23 remained missing.
Following the accident, the Kazakhstan government has summoned ArcelorMittal’s owner Lakshmi Mittal of Indian origin, who was expected to visit the coal mine Monday.
ArcelorMittal uses coal from the mines to feed its Temirtau iron and steel mill in Karaganda, an industrial region located in the centre of this resource-rich Central Asian state.