KARAGANDA - Kazakhstan was in nationwide mourning after 36 people died in a fire at an ArcelorMittal mine, the worst such disaster in years which has prompted the nationalisation of the company's local affiliate.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations said "the bodies of 36 miners were found and 10 workers were still being sought".
The chances of finding them alive are, however, "very low," the rescuers warned the night before, due to the lack of ventilation in the mine and the force of Saturday's explosion, which spread over two kilometres.
Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev travelled to the scene of the incident Saturday and ordered cooperation with ArcelorMittal be "brought to an end".
Speaking to victims' relatives at the Karaganda mine in the country's centre, Tokayev called ArcelorMittal "the worst enterprise in Kazakhstan's history in terms of cooperation with the government".
The Kazakh government and the steel giant announced a preliminary agreement to "transfer ownership of the (local) firm in favour of the Republic of Kazakhstan", Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov stated.
"ArcelorMittal can confirm that the two parties have... signed a preliminary agreement for a transaction that will transfer ownership to the Republic of Kazakhstan," the global steel giant stated, adding it was committed to "finalising this transaction as soon as possible."
On Sunday, flags were at half-mast to mark the day of national mourning declared by Tokayev, an AFP correspondent saw.