Two workers fall to their death after equipment failure at wind farm

Two wind turbine maintenance workers fell to their death on Saturday at a wind farm in Nebraska, in the United States, with local police immediately blaming “equipment failure” for the tragedy.

The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office said on its Facebook account that it had responded to “two work-related fatalities” on Saturday south of the small town of Winside.

The two men, Eddy Noriega Sebinet, aged 46, and Raidel Justiz Noriega, aged 37, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Described as “a wind turbine maintenance crew”, the sheriff’s office said that the two men had “experienced an equipment failure” which resulted in them falling from a turbine. No other specifics were given, and the accident remains under investigation.

Subsequent reporting has identified the wind farm as the 230MW Plum Creek wind farm, owned and operated by Danish wind energy giant Ørsted.

Construction of the wind farm was completed in 2020, which consists of 82 2.8MW wind turbines from GE Renewable Energy (now GE Vernova).

Ørsted head of US communications and public affairs Tory Mazzola confirmed the accident in a statement to journalists.

“There was a tragic incident Saturday at Plum Creek Wind Farm that resulted in two fatalities.

“Our deepest condolences go out to the WindCom technicians’ families, and we are working with their employers to support them in any way we can. An active investigation is underway with the proper authorities.”

Mazzola also confirmed that the two men worked for wind turbine maintenance firm WindCom. According to The Wayne Herald, both men were from Las Vegas.

A GE Vernova spokesperson also offered a statement to journalists: “GE Vernova is deeply saddened by the incident that occurred at the Plum Creek wind farm in Wayne County, Nebraska on Saturday, February 22.  We extend our heartfelt sympathies to the families of those impacted.”