Published: Less than 1 hour ago
Tim Karlsson and his son Milion were out picking cloudberries when a wind turbine broke above them.
Pieces as big as cutting boards fell to the ground as the family fled the scene.
– I just shouted to my friend that he should run for his life, says Tim.
Tim Karlsson and his son Milion got a shock when they, together with a friend and his daughter, were out for a walk at the Björkvattnet wind farm in Jämtland on Thursday evening.
What was supposed to be a pleasant walk turned into something completely different.
– We were going to pick gooseberries. Five minutes into the picking it just narrowed. It’s the loudest bang I’ve heard in my life, says Tim.
When he looked up, he saw that a wing on one of the wind turbines in the area had come off.
– I just shouted to my friend that he should run for his life, he was standing right under the explosion.
“Ran like Usain Bolt”
Tim picked up his son and his friend’s daughter and started running.
– We ran across the marsh. Everyone knows how hard it is to walk, but I was like Usain Bolt, he says.
How did you feel when this happened?
– I didn’t think it was true, it felt like a movie. It was truly a blast. One of the parts that came off was behind our car when we drove away. It was the size of a normal cutting board.
The incident affected Tim throughout the night.
– You were quite cut all night. I don’t think I’ve slept for a second, he says.
“Take it very seriously”
The company OX2TCM, which manages the park for Treblade, which owns it, confirms the incident.
– It happened at eight o’clock in the evening. No one was injured and the manufacturer quickly had personnel on site. The investigation has begun, says Lars Bryngelsson, manager of the park.
It is unclear what caused the accident.
– We don’t want to speculate on that, but there haven’t been any gales in the park. We have started the root cause investigation and hope to move on when we have received good data, he says.
It is not the first time a wind power accident has hit the park. Last year, a wing was broken off on a newly built wind turbine in the same area, writes SVT Jamtland.
– This is unusual, but it happens. Last year, it was one of the other turbines in the park that was involved in an accident.
Although no one was injured, Lars Bryngelsson takes a serious view of what happened.
– It is very sad that it is happening. We take it very seriously and try to quickly find out what the cause is and work on it, he says.