The Prosecutor's Office of the Karaganda Region has sent to court 106 volumes of the criminal case concerning the deaths of workers at the Kostenko mine.
According to the department's press service, the pre-trial investigation was conducted by special prosecutors from the General Prosecutor's Office with the participation of staff from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Anti-Corruption Agency, and the Financial Monitoring Agency.
The investigation established that the tragedy was caused by numerous violations of safety rules during mining operations.
"The explosion at the coal extraction site triggered a chain reaction of coal dust explosions, the concentration of which significantly exceeded permissible limits. As a result, 46 miners died, and another 28 were injured", the statement said.
It has become known that 10 people from the mine's management and engineering-technical staff were brought to criminal responsibility. All of them are in custody.
They have been charged under Article 277, Part 3 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, "Violation of safety rules during mining operations," which carries a penalty of up to 8 years' imprisonment. 74 people have been recognised as victims in the case.
Recall that in October 2023, a methane explosion at the Kostenko mine in the Karaganda Region claimed the lives of 46 people and injured 28 miners.
After the tragedy, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev ordered investment cooperation with the corporation "ArcelorMittal" to be terminated. Subsequently, "ArcelorMittal Temirtau" officially came under the jurisdiction of Kazakhstan.
The new investor of the enterprise became Andrey Lavrentiev, and the enterprise was renamed "Qarmet". Under the terms of the deal, Lavrentiev was to invest $3 billion in the modernisation of the plant and mines.