News on March 24, according to media reports, on the afternoon of March 23, local time, a fire broke out in a wind turbine in Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea during maintenance operations. Since the fire started about 80 meters above the ground, the fire spread quickly. The fire blocked the high-altitude escape route in a very short time. Three outsourced maintenance workers who were working on site were unable to evacuate in time and eventually died.
The accident occurred at around 1:11 pm that day, and the equipment on fire was the No. 19 wind turbine of Yongde Wind Farm.Three maintenance personnel were inside the wind turbine turbine when the incident occurred. They were inspecting and repairing cracks in the blade area.
The source of the fire was suspected to have originated from the middle of the blade or the nacelle, and quickly spiraled out of control. The fire caused two huge blades of the wind turbine to be completely burned and fell. The leakage of lubricating oil in the cabin fueled the fire, making rescue extremely difficult.
The three workers who died were aged 42, 58 and 45 years old respectively. Rescuers found their bodies at the bottom of the turbine and inside the burned and fallen blades.
Videos shot by surrounding residents showed that the top of the turbine was blazing into the sky, and burning debris continued to fall from high altitudes, even igniting some of the woods below.
The Yongdeok Wind Farm involved has been in operation since 2005 and has a total of 24 generators. It is the first commercial wind farm in South Korea invested and constructed by private capital.
The wind farm has experienced frequent safety issues recently. In early February this year, another unit at the site collapsed due to blade damage, and all wind turbines at the site were forced to shut down for maintenance.
The fatal fire occurred in Unit 19, which caught fire this time, during the process of undergoing comprehensive safety inspection and maintenance.