1 dead, 12 people rescued after elevator breakdown at gold mine tourist site

By JESSE BEDAYN and MATTHEW BROWN, Associated Press

DENVER (AP) — One person was killed and 12 people were rescued after being trapped for about six hours deep inside a former Colorado gold mine when an elevator broke down at the tourist site, officials said. announced the authorities.

The elevator was descending into the Mollie Kathleen gold mine near the town of Cripple Creek when it encountered a mechanical problem about 500 feet below the surface, creating a “serious hazard to participants,” the elevator said. Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell.

The visitor’s cause of death was not immediately released.

The 12 adults stuck about 1,000 feet underground had access to water and were using radios to communicate with authorities, who told them there was a problem with the elevator, Mikesell said.

Mikesell said during a nightly news briefing that authorities did not yet know what caused the malfunction and that an investigation was underway. Engineers worked to ensure the elevator was operating safely again before re-assuming stranded visitors. They were prepared to drag them up with a rope if necessary if they had failed to get the elevator repaired.

Mikesell declined to reveal the identity of the victim.

The incident, which was reported to authorities around noon, occurred during the final week of the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine’s season before it closed for the winter, Mikesell said.

Earlier in the afternoon, while the 12 people were stuck at the bottom, 11 other people who were riding the elevator were rescued. Four of them suffered minor injuries, but the sheriff did not say how they were injured.

The elevator ride typically takes about two minutes, at a speed of about 500 feet per minute, according to the mine’s website.

Mikesell said the last incident happened in the 1980s, when a few people were stuck in the elevator. No one died in this incident.

Mines that operate as tourist attractions in Colorado must designate someone to inspect mines and transportation systems daily, according to the state’s Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety. Mikesell said he did not know the date of the last inspection. Records of the inspections were not immediately available online.