July 7, 2016
Kansas

Man working on wind tower critically injured by falling bolt in Pratt County

www.kwch.com

PRATT COUNTY, Kan. UPDATE: After arriving on scene, the Pratt County sheriff tells us the man did not fall from the wind turbine as was initially reported. The sheriff says the man was more than 100 feet off the ground when a four-pound bolt far above him fell and struck the man on the head.

The sheriff says the bolt fell from the tower about 100 feet above the worker and about 200 above the ground.

Other workers helped the man to the ground. He was taken by medical helicopter to a hospital, the sheriff says. The sheriff says the man was not wearing a helmet.

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Pratt County Sheriff Vernon Chinn confirms a worker has fallen more than 100 feet from a wind tower near Pratt.

Chinn says emergency crews are on the way and the condition of the worker is unknown. The fall was reported about 10:15 pm.

This marks the second time in less than a week that a worker has fallen from a wind tower in the county.

On Sunday, a 41-year-old man fell about 120 feet while conducting maintenance on the wind turbine. That man was taken to a Wichita hospital.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2016/07/07/man-working-on-wind-tower-critically-injured-by-falling-bolt-in-pratt-county/