Two workers suffer burns following turbine 'explosion' at Spanish wind farm

Victim suffers second degree burns but details are lacking about the circumstances of the incident

Navarre emergency services.rush two wind farm workers to hospital
Navarre emergency services.rush two wind farm workers to hospitalPhoto: Navarre firefighter service

Two workers have suffered burns, one of them severe, as a result what appears to be a major electrical fault on a wind turbine in the Bardenas Reales region of Navarre, Spain.

The two workers were initially transported by emergency services to a hospital in the town of Tudela as a result of what the Navarre fire brigade service described as an "explosion" on the wind turbine generator.

It is understood that the workers were performing maintenance work inside the turbine tower when the incident occurred on Friday.

One of the victims, a 29-year old woman, suffered first degree burns and was subsequently transferred to the Miguel Servet University Hospital in Zaragoza, according to the Navarre firefighters' statement.

The second victim, a 31-year old man, suffered first and second degree burns and was transferred by a helicopter ambulance to the specialist burns unit of the same hospital. His condition was described as serious.

Recharge was not able to confirm additional details about either the causes of the incident, although the Navarra fire service posting stated that the causes will now be subject to a police investigation.

A spokesperson for the autonomous government of Navarre was able to confirm that the incident occurred on the Bandera wind farm. Online documentation of the environmental impact assessment for a new repowering project for Bandera identify the developer as Spain's Enhol group.

Earlier incident

This is the second incident of this kind reported in the space of two weeks in the autonomous Spanish region of Navarre.

On 5 May, firefighters were called out to the Naturgy-owned Caluengo wind farm, near the town of Peralta, where a wind turbine generator had burst into flames, eventually falling from its tower.

Video footage of the incident was posted by the Navarre fire service.

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Published 13 May 2024, 15:30Updated 14 May 2024, 08:56
SpainSafetyNavarre