Officials call death of Patrick Weier, 46, ‘Colorado tragedy’ but police say they do not know what caused his death

The person killed Thursday during an elevator malfunction at a former Colorado gold mine – which left 23 stranded underground – worked as a tour guide at the site, authorities said.

Weier’s death unfolded at about 12pm local time at Mollie Kathleen gold mine. The site near Cripple Creek, Colorado, which opened in the 19th century as a mine but closed in the 1960s, now offers tours.

Participants take an elevator 1,000ft down the mine shaft. The trip takes approximately two minutes, with the tour lasting about an hour.

“We know that at 500ft is where the issue occurred,” Mikesell told reporters. “We know that there was some type of an incident with the doors, and at that point, something went wrong.

“Currently we don’t know what happened at 500ft to cause this.”

Authorities said that the lift operator at the top of the shaft noticed there was a problem with the elevator when 11 people were riding it. After they were brought back to the main level, authorities realized that Weier was killed and four other adults injured, the Gazette reported.

Another group of 12 – including 11 visitors and one guide – remained at the bottom after the elevator malfunctioned.