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.

An October elevator malfunction in a Colorado gold mine that killed a tour guide and stranded nearly two dozen people underground for hours was caused by “operator error,” Teller County sheriff’s officials said 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.