Lorry is crushed by the blade of a WIND TURBINE after it spins across German autobahn when delivery truck crashes | By Gareth Davies for Mailonline | 16 May 2017 | www.dailymail.co.uk
A lorry was crushed by the blade of a 62m wind turbine which went spinning across the German autobahn after a transporter truck crashed.
Autobahn 33 was closed just outside Bielefeld, between Hanover and Dortmund, when the truck carrying the 16-ton wind turbine was rear-ended by another vehicle.
It sent the enormous blade across the carriageway where it ploughed into vehicles and a lorry belonging to cargo logistics company Koch International – which is based just 34 miles away from the incident in Osnabrück – was left completely destroyed.
The €520,000 piece of equipment was on its way to a wind farm in Hasselbach in Bielefeld-Eckardtsheim when the collision occurred on a slip-road this morning.
The wing of a 62m-long wind turbine stuck in the cabin of a truck after an accident on a motorway near Bielefeld, western Germany, Tuesday, May 16, 2017
The €520,000 piece of equipment – pictured here having annihilated a truck – was on its way to a wind farm in Hasselbach in Bielefeld-Eckardtsheim when the collision occurred on a slip-road this morning
The huge 16-ton rotor blade will now have to be sawn into smaller pieces in order for two cranes to be able to lift it from the road
The incident on Tuesday morning was made worse by the lorry that hit the back of the transporter truck shunting the turbine across the whole width of the motorway, according to Rheinische Post.
In the process, the cabin was badly damaged and the driver sustained injuries when the vehicle he was driving was left mangled.
Police immediately closed down the autobahn in both directions which led to huge backlogs on the busy stretch of road.
Because of the size of the rotor blade, it will have to be sawn into pieces in order for two cranes to lift them off the road, according to Westfalen Blatt.
As the transporter tried to leave the motorway, a lorry crashed into the back of it on the slip-road.
A third truck tried to swerve the enormous blade, but only managed to crash into it, sending it hurtling across the other side of the carriageway.
Here, a driving coming the opposite direction smashed straight into it, and the driver was left with serious injuries.
The driver of the third truck was also hurt, but only sustained minor injuries.
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2017/05/16/lorry-crushed-by-the-blade-of-a-wind-turbine-on-autobahn/