Tourists rescued from gold mine in Colorado

Twelve tourists trapped for hours in an abandoned Colorado gold mine were rescued, but a fellow visitor died.

The group was touring the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine in Cripple Creek, a private tourist attraction, when an elevator broke.

Another 11 tourists, including two children, were previously rescued from the mine, four of them with minor injuries.

According to the tour operator’s website, the hour-long tour takes visitors 1,000 feet (305 m) down the shaft to the southwest side of Pikes Peak.

Officials say the elevator that descended into the gold mine experienced a mechanical problem about 500 feet below the surface, posing a “significant danger to participants.”

“We actually had a fatality in this incident at 500 feet,” Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell said previously. He didn’t give any details.

“There is an elevator issue that needs to be addressed before they can be brought up,” Sheriff Mikesell told reporters.

Rescue teams used radios to communicate with the 12 other people trapped near the mine bottom.

“They have chairs, blankets, water and a safe temperature,” Sheriff Mikesell said. “The cause of this was an equipment malfunction. The mine didn’t collapse.”

Multiple emergency services, including search and rescue teams, responded to the incident with heavy equipment.

Hours later, Gov. Jared Polis said, “I am relieved that 12 of the people trapped in the Mollie Kathleen mine have been safely rescued.”

According to the tour operator’s website Entering the 1890s gold mine is akin to riding an elevator, accompanied by the sounds of mining machines.

Visitors to Mollie Kathleen can see several exposed gold veins in their natural state, the website says.

The website adds that proceeds from the tours are used to “maintain the mine in a safe, operational mining condition.”

Officials say the last “incident” occurred there in 1986, but did not provide further details.

On TripAdvisor, several people described the elevator as a “miner’s cage.” The reports, which the BBC was unable to verify, said conditions could be cramped and claustrophobic.

William Snare, A former elevator operator at the mine told the Colorado Springs Gazette that the elevator could carry between nine and 15 people. He said the descent took two minutes and the return to the surface took four to five minutes.

The mine was named after Mollie Kathleen Gortner, the first woman to strike gold at Cripple Creek Gold Camp in 1891.

Tours were scheduled to end for the season this Sunday.