One person was killed and not less than 4 others injured when an elevator failed at a tourist attraction gold mine in Colorado.
Officials said a mechanical problem with the mine's elevator system resulted in “a serious danger to participants” around 12 p.m. local time on Thursday Mollie Kathleen Goldmine in Cripple Creek, a town 35 miles west of Colorado Springs.
The Teller County Sheriff's Office said the incident left a tour group and guides trapped several hundred feet underground while employees repaired the elevator.
It stays unclear how the person died, but officials said the mine didn’t collapse. The reason for the accident is being investigated.
It got here around 7:45 p.m Colorado Springs Fire Department announced that 12 individuals who were trapped were all safely returned to the surface.
“I am relieved that 12 of the people trapped in the Mollie Kathleen mine have been safely rescued.” Colorado Governor Jared Polis said in a press release Thursday evening, he added: “Our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of the person who died in this incident.”
A separate group of 11 people, including two children, had been rescued earlier.
Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell said those trapped underground for greater than six hours were in constant contact with people on the surface, were never in peril themselves and had access to water, chairs and blankets. When they got back to the surface they got pizza.
The roughly 1,000-foot-deep mine closed within the Nineteen Sixties, but tours continued to be offered. During the tour, guests and guides wear safety helmets and take the elevator down for roughly two minutes. A brief train ride then results in a quarter-mile hike underground during a gold mining demonstration.
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