German motorway closed as wind turbine blade hangs by a thread

The blade of a wind turbine is threatening to fall onto a motorway in western Germany after it snapped and is now hanging on by a thread, police said on Wednesday.

Energy giant RWE said the wind turbine is part of its Bedburg wind farm, located some 40 kilometres from the Dutch border, confirming that a blade has been damaged.

Police have so far ruled out foul play and warned that the blade might come down.

The fire brigade’s head of operations, Guido Garbe, said an area of 400 metres has been cordoned off as a precautionary measure as it was difficult to say where the blade would land due to wind.

The nearby A44 motorway between the Jackerath and Holz junctions has been temporarily closed in case the blade ends up crashing onto the road, Garbe said.

As firefighters are waiting for the blade to come down, operator RWE plans to move the turbine at slow speed in the hope of severing the blade.

RWE stressed that the wind turbine affected was recently set up by manufacturer Nordex and that the energy firm had not yet commissioned and taken over the system.