The Shakhtinsky City Court of the Karaganda Region heard a case regarding a fire at the 'Kazakhstanskaya' mine of the coal department of ArcelorMittal Temirtau JSC and the deaths of five miners.
According to the press service of the region's courts, the defendants included the acting deputy director for production of the production service, the head of the conveyor transport section, and two other individuals.
They were accused of violating safety rules during mining or construction work, which negligently resulted in the deaths of two or more people.
According to the court, the defendants, "in the absence of a passport for the coal conveyor incline D6 of the 2-bis horizon at the -170 level, with visible deformations violating the cross-section and integrity of the metal-arched support", did not take measures to stop operations and allowed the operation of a fire-hazardous conveyor belt.
"As a result of the violations committed during the repair shift on 17.08.2023, a fire occurred on the coal conveyor incline of the 'Kazakhstanskaya' mine. As a result of the fire, five miners died, and seventeen miners sustained moderate and severe harm to their health", the statement said.
Ultimately, the court found the defendants guilty and sentenced them to 4 years in prison.
It will be recalled that in August 2023, in the Karaganda Region, a conveyor belt caught fire at the 'Kazakhstanskaya' mine of the coal department of ArcelorMittal Temirtau JSC, where 227 people were present at the time. Five miners died.
In October of the same year, a methane explosion at the Kostenko mine in the Karaganda Region, also owned by ArcelorMittal Temirtau JSC, claimed the lives of 46 people and injured 28 miners.
After the tragedy, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev ordered the cessation of investment cooperation with the company. Subsequently, ArcelorMittal Temirtau officially came under the jurisdiction of Kazakhstan. Andrey Lavrentyev became the new investor of the enterprise, and the company was renamed to 'Qarmet'.