The death toll due to a fire at a mine owned by ArcelorMittal in Kazakhstan rose to 42 on Sunday, Al Jazeera reported citing the Kazakhstan Ministry.  "The search operation is hampered by the presence of destroyed mining equipment as well as rubble in some places", the Ministry of Emergency Situations said in a statement.

Rescuers are searching for miners in two areas of the mine 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) apart, it said. On Saturday, operator ArcelorMittal Temirtau, the local unit of Luxembourg-based steelmaker ArcelorMittal, said 206 of 252 people at the Kostenko mine had been evacuated after what appeared to be a methane blast, Al Jazeera reported.