The man killed in a mine elevator accident in Colorado was a 46-year-old father and tour guide there, officials said Friday as investigators tried to understand exactly what happened.
What Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell called a “very tragic accident” occurred when an elevator was located about 500 feet deep in the 1,000-foot deep shaft of the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine near Cripple Creek around noon Thursday.
The murdered man was identified as Patrick Weier, who worked as a guide at the mine. Weier had a 7-year-old son and lived in Victor, a community of fewer than 400 people in the area, officials said.
“Right now we don’t know exactly what happened at 500 feet to cause this,” Mikesell said. “That’s something we’re working on.”
The elevator was descending when the accident occurred, he said.
The circumstances of Weier’s death have not been released, but Mikesell said investigators believe it was a mechanical problem rather than a medical episode.
Some of the initial reports suggested the elevator had experienced a “fall,” but officials don’t know whether it fell or bounced, and there is no camera in the small elevator to show what happened, he said.
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and other agencies are also investigating.
Mikesell said the state conducts safety inspections and that an official from that agency was on scene Thursday after the accident.
“I know it passed safety inspections,” Mikesell said, but he did not have the data at Friday’s news conference.
The elevator is operated from a cabin on the surface, he said.
In addition to Weier, 23 other people were rescued from the mine after the accident.
Eleven, including Weier, were in the elevator at the time. A group of 12 tourists and a guide were at an altitude of 1,000 feet and were later taken up in elevators of four, the sheriff’s office said.
The mine said on its website that it had “experienced a tragic event.”
“We would like to extend our prayers and condolences to all involved,” the statement said. It also thanked first responders and other responders and said the mine is closed until further notice.
Gov. Jared Polis offered his condolences Thursday and he will call Weier’s family when necessary, Teller County Commissioner Dan Williams said.
The White House also reached out after the incident, Williams said.
“Someone once wrote, and I’m not preaching, I’m just telling you there’s a time for everything under the sun, you heard that,” Williams said. “This is now a time of mourning.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
