The man killed Thursday when an elevator malfunctioned at a former Colorado gold mine — trapping him 23 underground — was working as a tour guide at the site, officials said.
Authorities have identified the deceased as 46-year-old Patrick Weier of Victor, Colorado. Weir’s survivors include a seven-year-old son. According to the Colorado Springs Gazette.
Weier was preparing to become a volunteer firefighter in his town of about 400, the newspaper reported. “Everybody will be in mourning when they realize who he is,” said Barbara Manning, the mayor of Victor.
The local sheriff, Jason Michell, said he didn’t know what happened — but he thought Weier was “trying to keep everyone safe.” ABC News reported.
“All I know is that he was a good man, and he loved his job,” Miskell told a news conference.
“This is a county tragedy,” Local Government Commissioner Dan Williams was quoted as saying by the Gazette. “It’s a Colorado tragedy.”
Weir’s death occurred around 12 noon local time at the Molly Kathleen Gold Mine. The site, near Cripple Creek, Colorado, opened as a mine in the 19th century but closed in the 1960s and now offers tours.
Participants take an elevator 1,000 feet down the mine shaft. The journey takes about two minutes and the tour lasts about an hour.
“We know the problem occurred at 500 feet,” Mikel told reporters. “We know there was an incident with the doors and something went wrong at that point.
“We don’t know what happened at 500 feet at the moment.”
Officials said a lift operator at the top of the shaft noticed a problem with the lift when 11 people were traveling. After they were brought back to the main level, authorities realized Weier had been killed and four other adults were wounded, the Gazette reported.
Another group of 12 people – including 11 visitors and a guide – remained below after the elevator broke down. Officials told the group that once the elevator is deemed safe to ride, they will be taken back to the main level. They suffered for about seven hours.
Technicians adjusted the elevator 500 feet to rescue those trapped at the bottom of the mine shaft. They examined the cables, then they tested the lift by sending it down and bringing it back up, ABC News reported.
The owner of the mine traveled to check that the elevator could travel safely. Mikel said the owner’s son worked on setting up the hoist to lower the lift.
“Without their help, we probably wouldn’t have been able to get people out of there,” Michel said, describing them as “heroes.”
When the elevator was deemed safe, officials brought the four stranded people back to the surface at once, officials said.
