One dead, a dozen others trapped inside Colorado tourist mine after equipment malfunction

At least one person is dead and others are injured after an equipment malfunction trapped nearly two dozen people underground in a Colorado tourist mine, officials with the Teller County Sheriff’s Department said Thursday.

Eleven people have been rescued, the sheriff’s office said, and officials are working to get to the 12 people who remain in the mine.

It is unclear how the one person died, officials said.

A problem was reported earlier Thursday with the elevator at the Mollie Kathleen Mine, which prompted the incident and ongoing rescue attempt, officials said.

The people who remain in a shaft at the bottom of the mine have water and blankets and have been in communication with responders, officials said.

The sheriff’s office said those rescued reported neck and back pain, and others said they were traumatized by the event.

Two children were involved, officials said, but no other details about the people in the incident have been provided. It was not clear whether the children have been rescued.

The last time an incident occurred at the mine was in 1986, officials said.

Officials from the Teller County Sheriff’s Office earlier made clear that the mine did not collapse and the incident occurred as a result of an equipment malfunction.

Teller County is just over 100 miles south of Denver.

The mine was set to close Sunday for the season, according to its website.

It offers one-hour tours in which visitors can “vertically descent 100 stories into the earth” to “witness the evolution of overground mining,” the website says.