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Forum Index : Windmills : Look up and live.

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Gizmo

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Joined: 05/06/2004
Location: Australia
Posts: 5124
Posted: 12:34pm 16 Mar 2010
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This was on the ABC news today....

Two people are dead and two others have been injured in a farm accident in western Victoria.

The dead were among a group of people who were trying to move a windmill at Rainbow in the Wimmera.

It is understood the windmill came into contact with powerlines, electrocuting two people.


Full story here.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/16/2847257.htm

The story doesn't say what type of windmill it was, a farm water pumping mill at a guess. It sounds like it was close to a overhead power line.

Nasty stuff. You got to be carefull of those power lines.

Glenn
The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now.
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neil0mac
Senior Member

Joined: 26/12/2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 210
Posted: 11:52pm 16 Mar 2010
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  Gizmo said  

It is understood the windmill came into contact with powerlines, electrocuting two people.

The story doesn't say what type of windmill it was, a farm water pumping mill at a guess. It sounds like it was close to a overhead power line.


From a brief glimpse of the operation on TV, it appears that they were moving the mill on a trailer standing upright. Either they didn't compare the height of the mill with the power line or didn't take into acount the extra height from having it on a trailer.
 
Downwind

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Joined: 09/09/2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 2333
Posted: 01:02am 17 Mar 2010
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It is not the first time this has happened as i know of at least 2 other cases exactly the same, and it wont be the last time.

The problem comes from having wide open spaces to work in and as we all tend to get complacent and forget to look up.

I seen a guy get knocked off the top of a truck load of hay in a padock as they drove under power wires, it was lucky hay is a good insulator and he just had to suffer the fall and not be zapped.

Another funny thing was when i worked in Russia we had a power blackout for some time and driving down the road we seen why.
A crane driver drove through the mains lines with his boom up.
Ok that was not so funny, but it was a few days later and the power went out again and would you belive it he done the same thing on the way back out. You had to laugh at that.
Large dia tires was all that save him.

Pete.
Sometimes it just works
 
KarlJ

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Joined: 19/05/2008
Location: Australia
Posts: 1178
Posted: 07:39am 17 Mar 2010
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I've said a little prayer that none of us suffer the same fate and my wishes go out to the families.

Truly tragic stuff.

I make it a point of safety 1st and moving around even small 7-8m towers is scary even in two pieces.

I did get offered a southern cross mill and tower but decided that without some decent money for a crane etc that it was just too hard without risking life and limb.

and I didnt even consider powerlines....
Luck favours the well prepared
 
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