Colorado officials said Thursday one person is dead and 12 people are trapped underground after an elevator malfunctioned at a former gold mine near the town of Cripple Creek.

The elevator was descending into the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine when the unspecified accident happened at approximately 500 feet beneath the surface.

The 12 people are now at the bottom of the mine, 1,000 feet below the surface. Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell said they are safe and are talking with authorities, as rescue personnel work to repair the elevator.

“The state is assisting Teller County and sending resources to rescue those inside the mine,” Colorado Governor Jared Polis said in a statement. “We will do everything possible and assist the county to ensure a speedy and safe resolution of the situation.”

The gold mine opened in the 1800s and continued operation until the 1960s. It is now a tourist attraction, and visitors can see veins of gold during the tour, according to the mine’s website.

Mollie Kathleen Gortner was the first women to discover gold and strike a claim in her own name at the gold camp where the mine is located. The website posted, “This was clearly a bold move out of step with the times. … It was very uncommon to let a woman claim something of such value.”

Cripple Creek is a town of about 1,100 people located southwest of Colorado Springs.

Some information in this report came from Reuters and The Associated Press.