One person was killed and twelve were trapped in an elevator accident in a tourist mine in Colorado. The cause is still unknown

Denver – Investigators tried Friday to determine what caused an elevator to malfunction at a former gold mine in Colorado. One person was killed, four others were injured and twelve people remained trapped for hours at the base of the tourist attraction, 305 meters below the surface.

The elevator was descending into the Mollie Kathleen gold mine near the town of Cripple Creek in the mountains near Colorado Springs when a mechanical problem occurred about 500 feet (152 meters) below the surface. One person, who has not yet been identified, died and four others were injured, Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell said in briefings Thursday evening.

But what exactly caused the visitor's death was not initially revealed. Eleven other people, including two children who were riding in the elevator, were rescued. Four had minor injuries, including back, neck and arm pain, the sheriff said.

Twelve adults from a second group were trapped underground for about six hours on Thursday. They had access to water and used radios to communicate with authorities, who told them there was a problem with the elevator, Mikesell said.

Mines that serve as tourist attractions in Colorado are required to designate someone to inspect the mines and transportation systems daily, according to the state Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety. Mikesell said he did not know the date of the last inspection. Records of the inspections were not immediately available online.

Engineers worked to ensure the elevator was working safely again before taking stranded visitors back up Thursday evening. This involved lowering the elevator empty to the bottom of the shaft to ensure it could go back up without any problems. According to the mine's website, the elevator ride typically takes about two minutes.

The 12 stranded tourists were lifted up in groups of four over a period of half an hour, the sheriff's office said in a news release. They were prepared to use a rope to take her up if necessary if the elevator was unusable.

The incident, reported to authorities around midday, occurred in the final week of the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine season before it closes for the winter, Mikesell said.

Cripple Creek is a town of about 1,100 residents in the Rocky Mountains southwest of Colorado Springs.

The mine opened in the 19th century and closed in 1961, but still offers tours. The website describes a one-hour tour. It is said that visitors can see gold veins in the rock and ride the subway.

According to the company's website, a woman named Mollie Kathleen Gortner discovered the mine's location in 1891 when she saw quartz laced with gold.