Wind farm workers evacuated after offshore turbine catches fire

Plumes of thick black smoke could be seen for miles around

Workers at a wind farm in Norfolk were evacuated on Tuesday morning after an offshore turbine caught fire, sending plumes of thick black smoke billowing into the sky.

Part of a wind turbine at the Scroby Sands site caught fire at around 10.50am this morning and one witness said they saw the smoke from Lowestoft, East Suffolk - about 10 miles away.

Filmer Liam Killett, 29, said he was "surprised and shocked" when he saw the smoke while out walking on a break from work. "I had just started my lunchtime walk, I saw that and took a shot straight away," he said.

"[I was]surprised there were no service boats but assumed they were on the way due to seeing such a busy service area around those recently."

HM Costguard said the situartion was under control and being monitored (Liam Killett / SWNS)

He added: "[In the] last few weeks multiple ships have been out there. I saw the fire was on the way down, not up, so didn't report it. "By the time I'd finished my walking route I came round for a last look and it had stopped.

A family, who did not want to be named, said they arrived at the beach at around 10.50am. “The turbine was already on fire at that time,” the woman told Eastern Daily Press.

“We could see things falling off the back of the top and going into the sea as well.” The woman added that the jack-up equipment was closer to the windfarm, but not by the turbine at that time.

RWE, the German-headquartered firm that operates the turbines, located about 2.5km off the coast of Great Yarmouth, said that all its staff had been evacuated and accounted for and that it immediately alerted the emergency services and HM Coast Guard, which said the situation was under control and being monitored.

A spokesperson for RWE, who operate the turbines, said the fire, which has been extinguished, was sparked by a component at the top of the turbine.

The turbines were taken out of action so checks could take place. RWE said it hoped they would be back in service and providing electricity on Wednesday.

The Scroby Sands offshore wind farm was opened by E-ON in 2004. When the site first opened it had 30 turbines that were estimated to provide 60MW of renewable energy - enough to supply around 41,000 homes.