Sad News: Young subcontractor killed by turbine on wind farm

A worker killed when he was crushed by a wind turbine this morning has been identified as a young subcontractor from regional Victoria.

Emergency services were called to the Golden P23 wordslains Wind Farm on Bells Road in Rokewood around 8am.

It’s understood the turbine blade was being prepared for installation while still at ground level, when it fell and crushed the man, aged in his0s.

First responders attempted to revive him, but he died at the scene.

Danish renewable energy giant Vestas, the turbine supplier, confirmed the incident and said the site would be closed.

“Vestas is devastated for the worker’s family and the entire team building the wind farm and will be doing everything it can to support them during this terrible time,” Vestas Australia boss Danny Nielson said.

“The blade is stored underground and there is some prep work that needs to be done … and it’s in that work stream that the accident has happened.

“Safety is our number one priority so any incidents, any accidents, is for us one too many.”

Worksafe Minister Danny Pearson said fatality investigators and other specialists were on scene to look into what happened.

This is a heartbreaking tragedy and our thoughts are with the family of the worker as well as their workmates,” Pearson said.

The Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) said it recently raised safety concerns with the company.

“This devastating loss could have been prevented,” Victoria State Secretary Ronnie Hayden said.

“Just two weeks ago, union delegates from three different unions met with Vestas management to raise serious safety concerns, telling them it was only dumb luck that nobody had been killed on site yet.”

The AWU said it “consistently raised alarms about the mounting pressure on workers due to significant project