One person is dead and 12 others trapped hundreds of metres underground after an elevator failure at a former Colorado gold mine that is now a tourist attraction.
Another 11 people were rescued from the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine attraction in Cripple Creek, Colorado, Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell told reporters.
Emergency responders were attempting to repair the elevator to bring back the 11 tourists and one tour guide who were trapped, he added.
A mechanical failure in the elevator occurred with one tour group below ground and another group aboard while it was about halfway down the mine shaft.
This resulted in one fatality while four other people suffered minor injuries, Mikesell said without providing details of how the person died.
Responders had radio communication with the people trapped below, and they had water, blankets and chairs to keep them comfortable, Mikesell said.
Engineers from the state, mine safety experts and firefighters were on hand.
In the event the elevator cannot be safely repaired, firefighters were preparing for a rescue operation, but using the elevator would be much safer.
“If we have to, we can bring people up on those ropes, but it also subjects those first responders now to the threat and endangerment of doing so,” Mikesell said.
A family business has been operating tours at the mine, which is about 180 km south of Denver, for 50 years.
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