People near snapped wind turbine say winds were high but not unprecedented

Peoplelivingnear a wind turbine inGrandtang that snapped in half Tuesday night say the winds were high but not unprecedented for that area of Cape Breton.

"We never expected that to happen," said Rene Tartaglia, who lives near the turbinewith his wife, Doreen Aucoin. "The windmill had been there for so long, and we'd had a lot of big wind."

• Cape Breton wind turbine snaps in half

There was a severe wind warning Tuesday night, with winds reaching 160 km/h, butit's unclear if that had anything to do with the break.

Inspectors wereon scene Thursday taking pictures and assessing the damage.

Nova Scotia Power said no one was at the site at the time and no one was injured.

Tartaglia said the weather was foggy at the time of the collapse. "But I could see the debris was flying down towards the ocean. And after that I realized the windmill was no longer standing."

Tartaglia said he felt safe after the collapse,but his wife was more concerned.

"If it's too windy, then maybe it's not the right place for it," said Aucoin. "Because it is close to housesand I imagine the people up the hill ... they must have been scared because it was right near to their house."

LauretteChiasson, a resident who has lived in the area for 59 years, said she's never had a problem with the windmill, though she was scared after the collapse about pieces hitting the house.

2nd collapse since August

The 50-metre tall wind turbine was made by Denmark-basedVestas.

It wasbuilt in 2002and was one of the firstin Nova Scotia with a single 660-kilowattVestasturbine.Nova Scotia Power said the model is the only one of its kind in the province.

The collapse was the second one on Cape Breton in the last few months.

• Wind turbine collapse wreckage in Cape Breton combed for clues of cause

In August, an 80-metre wind turbine collapsed in Point Tupper. It was believed to be the first catastrophic failure of its kind in Canada.

Maintenance crews were replacing a "major component" on Aug. 17 when "an incident occurred," said a spokesperson forEnercon, the Montreal-based company responsible for the turbines in Point Tupper.