Man crushed to death by fan blade at Australian wind farm

Man crushed to death by fan blade at Australian wind farm

Media images showed a tractor lifting a fan blade tip, appeared to have toppled off a metal brace.

The massive fan blades used on industrial wind turbines can weigh up to 22 tonnes and stretch over 60m in length. (Golden Plains Wind Farm/FB pic)
SYDNEY:
A man was crushed to death by a fan blade of a wind turbine being built at one of Australia’s largest wind farms, police said Monday.

He had been working at the Golden Plains site about 130km west of Melbourne, a project which bills itself as Australia’s largest wind farm.

Police said the man was working at the wind farm when he was “crushed beneath a fan blade”.

The mammoth fan blades used on industrial wind turbines can weigh as much as 22 tonnes and measure more than 60m in length.

Images from local media showed a tractor attempting to lift the tip of a fan blade, which appeared to have toppled off a metal brace.

The state’s workplace safety watchdog said it was investigating the incident.

Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.