Methane blast kills at least five workers at Kazakhstan coal mine

The accident within the Karaganda mine occurred resulting from a sudden launch of methane gasoline, officers say.

A normal view of the Lenin coal mine within the city of Shakhtinsk [File: Vyacheslav Oseledko/AFP]

A methane explosion at a coal mine in central Kazakhstan has killed not less than 5 staff and injured one other 4, in line with officers.

“A sudden launch of gasoline through the drilling of a drainage properly led to the deaths of 5 staff” on Thursday within the Lenin coal mine belonging to ArcelorMittal, Ruslan Imankulov, a spokesman for the nation’s emergency ministry, instructed the AFP information company.

Imankulov added that “4 individuals had been hospitalised and 106 had been evacuated”.

The mine is situated within the city of Shakhtinsk within the resource-rich area of Karaganda, whose governor stated the accident had been attributable to an “explosion of methane” – a gasoline that, when mixed with a certain quantity of oxygen, can combust.

An investigation into potential violations of security guidelines has been opened by a authorities fee.

In an announcement, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev supplied his “condolences to the households and mates of the deceased staff”, and wished a “speedy restoration to the injured”.

Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic and Central Asia’s main economic system, has important deposits of oil, gasoline and coal, in addition to uranium, manganese, iron and chromium.

Mining accidents are frequent within the nations of the previous Soviet Union because of the dilapidation of amenities and a lax strategy to security.