Five dead after methane leak at ArcelorMittal coal mine in Kazakhstan

Five people died and four others were hospitalised after a methane gas leak at an ArcelorMittal coal mine in Kazakhstan on Thursday, the company said.

The company said it was continuing rescue work at the mine in the Qaraghandy region in central Kazakhstan where ArcelorMittal operates the country's biggest steel mill. Kazakh news website Zakon.kz quoted regional governor Zhenis Kasymbek as saying that all eight ArcelorMittal mines had halted work for a day.

Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov said a government commission would investigate the incident.