A further 18 were injured and taken to hospital after the fire at the facility in Karaganda.

23 people are still missing of the 252 who were inside the mine when the fire broke out, ArcelorMittal Temirtau, the Luxembourg steelmaker who own it, said.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev offered his condolences to victims' families.

He also ordered ministers to stop investment cooperation with ArcelorMittal Temirtau and said he is finalising a deal to nationalise the company.

It is the second fatal incident at an ArcelorMittal Temirtau-run site in two months after five miners were killed in August.

The company, which was established after it was taken over by an Indian billionaire in 2006, is the largest steel producer in the world.