A man who died at a gold mine in Colorado has been named – as investigators revealed he was a guide who worked at the tourist attraction.
Patrick Weier, a 46-year-old father-of-one, lived in Victor, a community of less than 400 people around five miles from the mine.
He was identified as officials try to understand what happened on Thursday afternoon, Sky News’ US partner network NBC News reports.
The circumstances of Mr Weier’s death have not been disclosed, but Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell said investigators believe it was from a mechanical issue with the lift rather than a medical episode.
Mr Weier was one of 11 people in the lift at the time, with four suffering minor injuries.
They were brought up first while a separate group of 12 tourists and a guide were trapped about 300m (1,000ft) down for six hours after the tragedy.
The trapped group were already underground when the lift carrying 11 people malfunctioned.
Mr Mikesell said the “very tragic accident” occurred as the lift was about 500ft down the 1,000-ft deep shaft at the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine near Cripple Creek at around noon local time.
“Currently, we don’t know exactly what happened at 500 feet to cause this,” Mr Mikesell said.
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“That’s something we’re working through.”
Image: Pic: AP
Mr Mikesell said the lift was on its descent when the accident happened.
Some of the initial reports had the lift experiencing a “drop”, but officials don’t know if it dropped or bounced, and there was no camera to show what happened, he added.
Image: The mine has been a tourist attraction for 50 years. Pic: AP
Mr Mikesell said the mine had passed safety inspections but he did not have the dates during a news conference on Friday.
The lift is operated from a cab on the surface, he added.
The former mine is about 110 miles (180km) south of Denver and has been operating tours for 50 years. It opened in the late 1800s and closed in 1961.
The ride to the bottom takes about two minutes and visitors can see veins of gold in the rock and ride an underground tram, according to the mine’s website.
On Day 57 of Trump’s presidency, US correspondent Mark Stone is joined by Gerard Baker, the Wall Street Journal’s editor-at-large.
After spending election night together on the Sky News set in November, the two compare notes on Trump’s presidency to date and discuss whether Trump is misinterpreting or ignoring his mandate.
Gerry shares what he believes Trump has done right, and what he’s got “completely wrong” at the cost of America.
Plus, they bet who will be the first casualty of the administration.
If you’ve got a question you’d like James, Martha, and Mark to answer, you can email it to trump100@sky.uk
Hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members have been deported by the White House to a supermax prison in El Salvador, even as a US judge blocked the removals.
US District Judge James E Boasberg issued an order on Saturday temporarily blocking the Trump administration deportations, but lawyers told him there were already two planes with immigrants in the air – one headed for El Salvador, the other for Honduras.
Mr Boasberg verbally ordered the planes be turned around, but the directive was not included in his written order.
Image: Salvadoran police officers escorting alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Pic: El Salvador’s Presidency Press Office/Reuters
Image: Pic: El Salvador’s Presidency Press Office/Reuters
Image: Pic: El Salvador’s Presidency Press Office/Reuters
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Sunday: “The administration did not ‘refuse to comply’ with a court order.
“The order, which had no lawful basis, was issued after terrorist TdA (Tren de Aragua gang) aliens had already been removed from US territory.”
In a court filing Sunday, the Department of Justice, which has appealed Mr Boasberg’s decision, said it would not use the Trump proclamation he blocked for further deportations if his decision is not overturned.
President Donald Trump sidestepped a question over whether his administration violated a court order while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday evening.
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But he added: “I can tell you this. These were bad people.”
Image: Pic: El Salvador’s Presidency Press Office/Reuters
Image: Police officers cut the hair of alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua recently deported by the U.S. government. Pic: El Salvador’s Presidency Press Office/Reuters
Image: Pic: El Salvador’s Presidency Press Office/Reuters
Asked about invoking presidential powers used in times of war, Mr Trump said: “This is a time of war.”
He also described the influx of criminal migrants as “an invasion”.
“Oopsie…Too late,” Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who agreed to house about 300 immigrants for a year at a cost of $6m in his country’s prisons, posted on X above an article about Mr Boasberg’s ruling.
The immigrants were deported after Mr Trump’s declaration of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which has been used only three times in US history – during the War of 1812 and the First and Second World Wars.
Tren de Aragua originated in an infamously lawless prison in the central state of Aragua and accompanied an exodus of millions of Venezuelans, the overwhelming majority of whom were seeking better living conditions after their nation’s economy came undone during the past decade.
The Trump administration has not identified the immigrants deported, provided any evidence they are in fact members of Tren de Aragua or that they committed any crimes in the US.
It also sent two top members of the Salvadoran MS-13 gang to El Salvador who had been arrested in the US.
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Video released by El Salvador’s government showed the shackled men – who had their heads shaved – being transported to prison in a large convoy of buses guarded by police and military vehicles and at least one helicopter.
The immigrants were taken to the notorious CECOT facility.
The bar on deportations stands for up to 14 days and the immigrants will remain in federal custody during that time.
Mr Boasberg has scheduled a hearing Friday to hear additional arguments in the case.
A delivery driver who needed skin grafts after being burned when a hot tea from Starbucks spilled into his lap has been awarded $50m (£38.6m) in damages.
Michael Garcia suffered third-degree burns to his genitals, groin and inner thighs and has permanent and life-changing disfigurement after collecting the drink at a California drive-through, according to his legal team.
His negligence lawsuit blamed the injuries on Starbucks, claiming an employee did not wedge the scalding-hot tea firmly enough into a takeaway tray.
Video footage shows Mr Garcia being handed a tray of three drinks at the serving window in Los Angeles and appearing to struggle as he drives his vehicle away.
Image: Incident happened at a Starbucks drive-through in California. Pic: Trial Lawyers for Justice
A Los Angeles County jury found in favour of Mr Garcia after he launched legal action over the incident on 8 February 2020.
He was working as a Postmates delivery driver at the time, according to Sky’s US partner network NBC News.
His lawyer Nick Rowley said his client’s “life has been forever changed”.
“This jury verdict is a critical step in holding Starbucks accountable for flagrant disregard for customer safety and failure to accept responsibility,” he added.
Starbucks said it sympathised with Mr Garcia, but plans to lodge an appeal.
In a statement, the global coffeehouse chain said: “We disagree with the jury’s decision that we were at fault for this incident and believe the damages awarded to be excessive.”
The firm added it was “committed to the highest safety standards” in handling hot drinks.
US restaurants have faced lawsuits before over customer burns.
In one famous 1990s case, a New Mexico jury awarded a woman nearly $3m (£2.3m) in damages for burns she suffered while trying to pry the lid off a cup of coffee at a McDonald’s drive-through.
A judge later reduced the award and the case was settled for an undisclosed sum under $600,000 (£463,600).