Colorado tourist mine accident leaves one person dead; 12 people remain trapped

Jeff Winter and Sarah Moon, CNN

(CNN) — One person has died, 11 people have been rescued and 12 people remain trapped at the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine, a tourist mine in Cripple Creek, Colorado, Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell said Thursday during a news conference.

Among those rescued, two were children and four were seen by medical personnel for minor injuries, according to Mikesell, who did not provide details on the fatality.

At around noon Thursday, the mine experienced a mechanical issue with its elevator system, causing “a severe issue for riders on-board,” Mikesell said. The cause of the accident remains under investigation.

The 12 people trapped at the bottom of the 1000-foot-deep mine are safe, Mikesell said. They have water, blankets, chairs and a radio. One of the trapped riders is an employee of the mine and a former mine-rescue professional, according to Mikesell.

Mikesell said he hopes to rescue the twelve trapped people by Thursday evening.

“We believe that the elevator will be intact,” he said, “but I want to make sure its perfectly safe before we do. And once that happens, then we’ll be able to bring them up.”

He said the Colorado Fire Department is on-scene and able to bring people up with a rope, but “it also subjects those first responders now to the threat and endangerment of doing so,” because of how far underground they would have to travel.

The mine last experienced an accident in 1986, and it has been operating as a tourist attraction for “well over 50 years,” Mikesell said.