By Shawn Fleetwood | The Gazette
One person died, four were injured and 23 rescued after an equipment malfunction during a tour Thursday of the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine in Cripple Creek, according to the Teller County Sheriff’s Office.
By 7:15 p.m., the 12 who had remained trapped for close to seven hours at the bottom of the tourist mine on the east side of town wrapped up their 1,000-foot ascent to the surface after workers fixed a broken elevator. Eleven others were rescued shortly after the issue happened at 500 feet.
The Sheriff’s Office received a report shortly after noon that an elevator transporting visitors at the mine had malfunctioned and stopped at the midway point, said Jason Mikesell, the Teller County sheriff.