Three workers die in wind turbine fire in South Korea

What happened

A fire broke out at a wind farm in Yeongdeok County, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, killing three workers. One worker was found dead at the turbine, with two others initially unaccounted for before later being confirmed dead. A major firefighting operation was launched to contain the blaze, reportedly including the use of firefighting helicopters. Korean media reported that the same wind farm had already suspended operations for investigation following a turbine collapse the previous month.

The operator of the wind farm and the manufacturer of the turbines involved were not identified in initial reports. Local police stated that the exact cause of the fire was under investigation at the time of reporting.

Contributing factors

Not reported. The wind farm had reportedly suspended operations the previous month following a separate turbine collapse, but no confirmed link between that event and the fire has been established in the reporting.

Lessons learned

1. Wind farms that suffer a turbine collapse need checks on all other turbines before operations restart.
2. Wind turbine fires require response plans that account for workers at height inside the nacelle.

More lessons on structural integrity and turbines, from every incident on the register.

Not yet known

• Operator of the wind farm
• Turbine manufacturer and model
• Exact cause of the fire
• Downtime and repair cost

This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.

Source

Recharge (rechargenews.com)