A rescue operation in Colorado on Thursday to get trapped mine visit visitors out of an underground mine was successful, seven hours after one person died and four others were injured.
Governor Jared Polis announced that the twelve people trapped in the Mollie Kathleen gold mine for six hours have been successfully rescued.
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“I am relieved,” Polis said in a prepared statement.
The popular tourist attraction that used to be mined for gold is located in Cripple Creek. Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell said at a news conference this afternoon that the trolley that goes down the elevator as part of the tour was 500 feet underground when a mechanical problem occurred. That led to the injuries and death. It is not yet clear how exactly the victim died.
Mikesell said the fatality and four injured were part of a group that was removed from the mine, but another group of 12 people 1,000 feet deep could not emerge due to safety concerns.
After many hours, safety officials were able to get the elevator working again and by 7:45 p.m. the rescue of the twelve people was completed. They were raised four at a time and were given pizza to eat after their ordeal.
“We have people and engineers from the state of Colorado, from our local jurisdictions, mine safety, from our partner mine here, our fire departments,” Mikesell said as they were still working on the rescue operation. “We have the best people in the country working on this issue here right now, and I hope we can resolve it tonight.”
The identity of the person killed has not been released.
“Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the person killed in this incident,” Polis said.
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Colorado State Sen. Mark Baisley, a Republican who represents Teller County, called the situation tragic.
“The best outcome at this time is for many families to come together to recover from the fatal accident and comfort each other,” Baisley said.
Polis deployed state resources to assist authorities in rescue efforts.
About the gold mine tour
The Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine is located at 9388 Highway 67 in Cripple Creek, about an hour west of Colorado Springs. It advertises itself on its website as the “Only Vertical Shaft Gold Mine Tour.” Tour visitors descend 300 meters underground.
Mikesell said the tourist attraction has been in business for more than 50 years.
The last tours of the old gold mine of the season were scheduled to take place this weekend.
