In the East Kazakhstan Region, at the Irtysh and Artyomovka mines, owned by the copper mining company “KAZ Minerals”, 5 workers died last weekend.
According to the company’s press service, on 31 August, the bodies of four people were found without signs of life at the Irtysh mine.
It is reported that the deceased were employees of the mine and workers of a contracting organisation. According to preliminary information, they were poisoned by gas.
Furthermore, on the night of 1 September, a tunnel driller from a contracting organisation died as a result of a rockfall at the Artyomovka mine.
“The circumstances and causes of the incidents are being established; special commissions have been set up to investigate. Oleg Novachuk, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the KAZ Minerals Group, has travelled to the region to take part in the investigation personally,” the statement said.
Company representatives expressed their condolences to the families of the deceased and promised to provide assistance.
In turn, the press service of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population announced the creation of a commission to investigate the incidents.
“The commission is chaired by Batyrbek Kizatov, Chief State Labour Inspector of the East Kazakhstan Region. Its members include representatives of the territorial departments of the Industrial Safety Committee of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Sanitary and Epidemiological Control Committee of the Ministry of Health, as well as employers and workers,” the statement said.
At the same time, the department named the deceased. They were two employees of “Vostoktsvetmet” LLP: tunnel drillers A.B. Bakytov and A.B. Kenesbayev, as well as two workers from the contracting organisation “Shahtstroy Inzhiniring” LLP: tunnel drillers A.T. Zhairgazin and A.K. Kusainov.
Another employee of “Vostoktsvetmet” LLP, tunnel driller A.K. Kamparov, was hospitalised.
According to Kursiv.media, KAZ Minerals employs around 14,000 people in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. 63.5% of the company’s shares are owned by businessman Vladimir Kim, whose fortune is estimated at $3.6 billion.
At the same time, the Telegram channel “Exit to the Truth” reported that the Akim of the East Kazakhstan Region, Yermek Kosherbayev, commented on the incident.
Journalists asked the Akim whether the main shareholder of the enterprise — oligarch Vladimir Kim — or any of the KAZ Minerals management would be held accountable following the incident at the mines.
“A commission has been created, an investigation is underway. They will be punished if someone has done something wrong. If it is determined that certain people are to blame, they will be held accountable. First, we will find out why the accidents are happening. The KAZ Minerals company has been operating without accidents for the last three years,” the statement said.
It will be recalled that in July, at the “Sokolovskaya” mine in the Kostanay Region, owned by Eurasian Resources Group, a worker died after blasting operations. In December last year, a worker also died at a mine of the company “Kazakhmys” in the Ulytau Region. The tragedy occurred at the “Zhylandy” mine.
A month before this incident, a fatal tragedy occurred at mine No. 57 of the East Zhezkazgan mine, which belongs to the same enterprise. The deceased was a mine foreman.
In August last year, in the Karaganda Region, a conveyor belt fire broke out at the “Kazakhstanskaya” mine of the coal department of ArcelorMittal Temirtau JSC. At the time, there were 227 people inside the mine, five of whom died.