ASTANA, October 28. /TASS/. The death toll in an accident at the ArcelorMittal-operated Kostenko coal mine in the city of Karaganda in central Kazakhstan has climbed to 33, the Kazinform news agency reported citing a senior emergencies official.

"Thirty-three dead bodies have been found, 13 people are still missing, and six more have been taken out. The fire <...> has been localized," the agency quoted Gennady Silinsky, the first deputy head of the Karaganda branch of the Republican Central Headquarters of Professional Paramilitary Emergency Services.

Previous reports said 32 people had been killed in the accident.

Kazakhstan’s Emergencies Minister Syrym Sharipkhanov said that there were 252 people in the mine when the accident occurred. More than 200 workers went up to the surface on their own. The search operation is underway.

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared nationwide mourning for the victims of the mine accident in Karaganda on October 29. Tokayev ordered the cabinet to halt investment cooperation with ArcelorMittal Temirtau, the republic’s largest mining company, in the wake of the accident.

The Kazakh government has reached a preliminary agreement with ArcelorMittal Temirtau shareholders, and the deal to transfer the company’s ownership to the Republic of Kazakhstan is currently being finalized.