In the American heartland state of Kansas, a worker on a giant wind power turbine fell 36.5 meters while repairing a blade on the generator.  But authorities say he is expected to survive.

Pratt County Sheriff Vernon Chinn says emergency responders found the man coherent, able to talk and "doing amazingly well for the fall he just had".  The worker might have been helped by the fact that he fell onto muddy terrain, although he landed on his back.  "I didn't expect to find this when we got out here, falls from that kind of height normally don't come out this well," Sheriff Chinn said.

Another worker was found hanging from his safety harness more than 30 meters in the air;  After several minutes he was lowered to safety in a construction basket and then brought to the ground.  The injured worker was taken to hospital in Wichita.

General Electric, which employs both of the workers, says it is investigating the accident.  Kansas is an ideal place to reap the power of the wind, because of the near constant breeze across the prairie.