Helicopter rescue for workers stranded on burning Siemens Gamesa wind turbine
Workers at wind farm in northeast Brazil were airlifted from turbine before being taken to hospital
Two workers at an Iberdrola-owned wind farm have been rescued by helicopter from a Siemens Gamesa turbine after a fire broke out in the generator.
The two employees were rescued last week from the turbine at the 20MW Mel wind farm in Rio Grande do Norte, a state on Brazil's far northeastern tip.
The wind farm is operated by Iberdrola’s local subsidiary Neoenergia, which said in a statement reported in local media that the workers were taken to a hospital for examination before being released, adding that they are both doing well.
The wind farm is made up of ten Siemens Gamesa G90 2MW wind turbines.
According to local media reports, the workers had been carrying out maintenance on the turbine when the fire broke out.
Due to safety concerns, elevators in the turbine were not activated, with the workers instead remaining in a safe area on top of the nacelle, said Neoenergia, which activated an emergency plan to rescue them by helicopter.
Video shows the workers being hoisted up by airlift cables before being carried to the ground.
Neoenergia said it is now awaiting the completion of a report that will determine the cause of the fire.
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