(CNN) One person has died and 23 people have been rescued after an elevator malfunction trapped them hundreds of feet underground at the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine, a tourist mine in Cripple Creek, Colorado, officials said Thursday.
At around noon Thursday, the mine experienced a mechanical issue with its elevator system, causing “a severe danger for the participants,” Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell said during a news conference. The cause of the incident remains under investigation. “Accidents happen when dealing with this kind of machinery,” Mikesell said.