Authorities say an incident involving an elevator at a former Colorado gold mine that led to the death of a tour guide and trapped a group of tourists for hours last year was caused by “operator error.

The Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine elevator breakdown was “not attributed to current mine practices or equipment malfunctions,” sheriff’s officials said.

An accident at a tourist gold mine in Cripple Creek that killed a man and left more than a dozen people trapped underground was the result of operator error, the Teller County Sheriff's Office said on Wednesday.

The death of a tour guide at a Colorado mine tour in October was caused by "operator error," not mine practices or equipment malfunctions, a recently concluded investigation found.