TELLER COUNTY, Colo. — One person died and 23 were rescued after an elevator malfunctioned at the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine near Cripple Creek during a tour on Thursday afternoon.
The mine, which is no longer active but is open for tours, is about a mile northeast of Cripple Creek and on the southwest face of Pikes Peak.
During a press conference on Thursday afternoon, Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell confirmed that around noon, a mechanical issue on the elevator "created severe damage for riders that were on board" about 500 feet down.
The single fatality happened at that 500-foot mark, but no other details were available on what happened to cause their death. Eleven people, including two children, were on the elevator at the time and were brought back up, Mikesell said. Four of the adults had minor injuries and were treated by medical providers.
Twelve people, all adults from out of state, had already taken the elevator all the way down to 1,000 feet underground. They were brought back to the surface following a multi-hour operation, Mikesell announced Thursday evening.
The group was brought up slowly and safely via the elevator in groups of four, with the first group exiting around 6:35 p.m. and the last four people exiting the mine around 7 p.m. The sheriff said the trapped parties had no idea what was going on until after they were rescued. They were only told that there was an "elevator issue."
Watch the full press conference in the video below.
The 12 people were underground for about six hours with chairs, water and blankets. After they were brought back to safety, they were given a briefing about what happened and pizza at their request, the sheriff explained.
Authorities are in touch with the family of the person who died. Their cause of death is currently under investigation, but Mikesell said it was related to the elevator malfunction, calling it a "tragic accident."
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis praised first responders for their "swift response" and said he was "relieved" that the remaining 12 people were rescued. He also extended his condolences to the family and loved ones of the person who was killed.
“I am relieved that 12 of the people trapped in the Mollie Kathleen Mine have been safely rescued. Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the individual lost in this incident. I thank Teller County and Sheriff Mikesell and his team, as well as the other law enforcement and first responders from local and state government for their swift response and tireless efforts, including members of the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Labor and Employment, and the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Thanks to this collaborative effort, each of these individuals will return home safely,” said Polis in a statement.
An investigation will be conducted into Thursday's equipment failure. The sheriff's office confirmed that the mine did not collapse and the malfunction did not create any instability in the mine.
The last time the mine had an incident was 1986, Mikesell said.
Per Colorado's Tourist Mine Inspection Guidelines, tourist mines must be inspected daily. This includes an inspection of the mine and mine conveyance equipment, it reads. Mikesell was not sure of the last time the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine was inspected.
The state of Colorado sent an elevator expert to the scene. Engineers from the state and local jurisdictions, as well as mine safety experts, also responded.
According to the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine Tour website, the Carlton Mill closed in the 1960s, so the mine had to stop gold production since it had no way to process the ore. However, mine tours were doing well at the time and so a decision was made to continue to welcome the public through guided tours.
Revenue from the tours is used to maintain the mine and ensure it is in “safe operable mining condition,” the website reads. One-hour walking tours are offered seasonally and take visitors on an elevator about 1,000 feet down, where a guide leads a group for about a quarter mile. The tours are open from May through the second weekend in October.
The mine is named after Mollie Kathleen Gortner, who spotted a rocky outcropping with gold-laced quartz in the area in September 1891, according to the tour website. She became the first woman in the area to discover gold and strike a claim in her own name. She died in 1917 and her husband died one year later. Their son was the managing operator of the mine until he died in 1949. Mining there continued into the early 1960s, when it closed, however the mine tours, which had done well for years, continued.
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