Death toll from Kazakhstan mine fire rises to 42

The death toll from a fire at a mine owned by ArcelorMittal in Kazakhstan rose to 42 people on Sunday, and a search operation for four miners continued, the Ministry for Emergency Situations said.

"The search operation is hampered by the presence of destroyed mining equipment, as well as rubble in some places", the ministry said in a statement.

Rescuers are searching for miners in two areas of the mine 4 kilometres apart, it said.

On Saturday, operator ArcelorMittal Temirtau, the local unit of Luxembourg-based steelmaker ArcelorMittal, said 206 of 252 people at the Kostenko mine had been evacuated after what appeared to be a methane blast.

The Ministry for Emergency Situations said it was still monitoring the gas situation at the mine.