The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
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CRIPPLE CREEK • One person died, four were injured and 23 rescued after an equipment malfunction during a tour Thursday of the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine in Cripple Creek, according to the Teller County Sheriff's Office.
By 7:15 p.m., the 12 who had remained trapped for more than six hours at the bottom of the tourist mine on the east side of town wrapped up their 1,000-foot ascent to the surface after workers fixed a broken elevator. Eleven others were rescued shortly after the issue happened at 500 feet.
The Sheriff’s Office received a report shortly after noon that an elevator transporting visitors at the mine had malfunctioned and stopped at the midway point, said Jason Mikesell, the Teller County sheriff.
Officials don't know what failed within the elevator trolley, or whether the people who were on the elevator were descending into the mine or coming up from a tour, Mikesell said.
Officials said they believed the fatality happened during the malfunction.
Officials said during a news conference in the evening after the rescue that all 12 were uninjured during the return to the surface, coming up four at a time using the elevator. The group was fed a meal of pizza, per their request, Mikesell said.
Officials confirmed all of the individuals were out-of-state tourists and were provided hotels for the night. None of them was made aware of the situation while they were stuck underground, other than being told of a "broken elevator." Upon their ascent, officials said they were "grateful" they were not told.
Those stuck at the bottom of the mine had blankets, chairs and water and were in communication with responders at the top while stuck, officials said.
Officials didn't say what went wrong with the elevator, but after inspection that no debris was blocking rails or cables, and a test run up and down, it was able to be used to bring all 12 individuals back up to safety.
History of Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine in Cripple Creek
The Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine, site of a deadly incident Thursday, is a former gold mine now turned into a tourist destination in Cripple Creek that takes guests on a vertical descent 100 floors below ground.
Officials reported earlier in the day that at least four initially suffered minor injuries, including back and neck pain, and were treated on scene. Two children were among the first group rescued and were provided mental health services, according to officials.
Teller County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Renee Bunting told The Gazette that the mine did not collapse, but had no other information about the incident.
The body of the deceased person was taken from the mine, but not identified by officials..
The Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine is a former gold mine turned into a tourist destination that takes guests on a vertical descent 100 floors below ground, according to its website. Tours are done at 1,000 feet, but the elevator shaft is deeper than that.
The Colorado Springs Fire Department sent heavy-rescue and high-angle crews, among others, to the mine.
Gov. Jared Polis' office sent a news release Thursday afternoon stating that he directed state resources to assist Teller County authorities with the rescue efforts.
The state had a field manager from the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management on the scene and the State Emergency Operations Center was activated and supporting resource requests. Both a mine rescue team from the Department of Natural Resources and a Department of Labor and Employment conveyances inspector were called on, according to the governor's news release.
"We are immensely grateful for the quick response of all the agencies involved and are holding everyone in our prayers," Cripple Creek Mayor Annie Durham said.
The mine has two shafts and uses a hoist elevator, said William Snare, a former hoist operator at the mine. The elevator can carry nine to 15 people depending on overall weight.
Snare said it takes 2 minutes to descend the 1,000 feet while the ride back up lasts 4 to 5 minutes.
The last day of the tours this season was scheduled to be Sunday, according to the Mollie Kathleen website.
The mine was named after Mollie Kathleen Gortner, who in 1891 became the first woman in the Cripple Creek gold camp to discover gold and strike a claim in her own name, according to the website.
The mine closed in the 1960s, but with mine tours doing well at the time a decision was made to continue the tours, the website stated.
Revenue from the tours is used to maintain the mine and ensure it is in “safe operable mining condition,” according to the website.
This was not the first mishap at the mine.
Officials on Thursday night referenced an unspecified incident in 1986. Also, according to Gazette archives from the Pikes Peak Library District's digital collection, the elevator failed twice in the summer of 1994 and left visitors stranded for hours.
The state requires daily tests of tourist mines, according to records.
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