Worker dies in wind turbine after climbing device accident
Incident occurred during use of automatic climbing system during turbine repairs at Chinese wind farm
A worker has died in a wind turbine after improper use of an automatic climbing system that they had bound the controls for with a cable tie.
The incident occurred in January this year at a wind project in China where 117 turbines are set to be built, according to an accident report released by a local authority last month.
The report states that three workers were inside the turbine carrying out repairs when the incident occurred at the site in the northern Inner Mongolia region.
After completing the work, the deceased worker, identified only as Zhang, aged 22, took the automatic climbing system down the turbine.
The climbing system is a model produced by China’s 3S Lift Climb, although there is no indication the device itself was at fault.
The other two workers waited for the climbing device to return and, during its ascent, found it to be shaking violently, says the report. One of the workers called Zhang on WeChat – a Chinese messaging app – but did not get a response.
After one of the other workers climbed further down to investigate, they found Zhang hanging unresponsive from the underside of the automatic climbing system.
Zhang had sustained a large wound to his neck and images in the report show a large amount of blood at the scene of the incident.
The arrival of assistance on the scene was hindered by heavy snow. When help did arrive, further efforts were made to resuscitate Zhang but he was declared dead soon after.
The report says that the family of the deceased worker later entered a compensation agreement over his death.
The primary cause of the incident was Zhang having tied the control handle of the climbing device with a cable tie. During the ascent of the device, a safety belt he was wearing got stuck and lifted him off the platform. He then sustained neck injuries that led to his death.
Secondary causes of the incident, according to the report, were unsound rules and regulations. It also found that no special personnel were arranged to carry out on-site safety inspections.
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