Colorado Tourist Mine Mechanical Malfunction Leads to One Death, Multiple Injuries

A mechanical issue on a Colorado tourist mine has led to a fatality with multiple people injured.

Patrick Weier gives a tour of the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine in Cripple Creek, Colo. / Mandatory Credit - Jennifer Nolan via AP

A Colorado tourist mine suffered a mechanical malfunction last week, leading to a scary situation in Teller County.

There were 23 people trapped in the Mollie Kathleen Mine after an equipment malfunction arose. It left them temporarily trapped as the elevator stopped working. It is the only vertical shaft gold mine tour.

One person lost their life as a result and four more were injured. The injured people received medical attention. It was described by Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell as a “very tragic accident”.

The elevator was about 500 feet down the 1,000-foot shaft when a problem arose. At first, there were 11 people on the lift, including two children. They were all able to be returned to the surface.

Further down was another group of “12 tourists and a highly experienced guide” who were all the way down the shaft. They had supplies to wait out being rescued, such as water and blankets, and were in communication with the responders on the surface.

As shared by Rebecca Cohen of NBC News, “The sheriff's office said those in the group of 11 rescued reported neck and back pain, and others said they were traumatized. None of the 12 people in the second round of rescue efforts was injured, Mikesell said.”

In an update a few days later, Phil Helsel of NBC News shared the identity of the person who died. It was 46-year-old Patrick Weier, who worked as a tour guide at the mine.

He had a seven-year-old son and lived in nearby Victor, which is a community of about 400 people.

“Currently, we don’t know exactly what happened at 500 feet to cause this,” Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell said. “That’s something we’re working through.”

When the accident involving Weier’s death occurred, the elevator was on its way down the shaft. Investigators are still trying to figure out exactly what happened to cause such a tragic event.

Mikesell did share that it is believed no medical episode occurred and that it was the mechanical issue that led to the unfortunate death.

A GoFundMe has been set up by Weier’s brother, John, to help raise money for his nephew and Patrick’s son, Anthony, to help him in any capacity in the future.