Six-figure payout after man froze to death at wind farm
THE family of a man who froze to death at a wind farm have been given a six-figure sum in compensation.
Ronnie Alexander, 74, died at the Afton wind farm near New Cumnock, Ayrshire, in 2018 after being stranded during severe weather.
The security guard, of Kilmarnock, succumbed to hypothermia after his cabin generator failed, leaving him without electricity or heat.
The tragedy took place just months before his 50th wedding anniversary to his wife Mary.
The family compensation comes a year after employers CSM Facilities and site bosses Farrans Construction were fined £860,000 over failings that led to the death.
Mrs Alexander, 82, said she hopes that the incident leads to safer working conditions.
She said: ‘The last few years have been utterly hellish. Everything about the loss of Ronnie and life without him has been a heartbreak.
‘Now that all the court hearings are finished it would be wrong to say I’m “happy” or “better”. I’m only glad those parts are over and I can focus my full attention on my family. ‘Keeping people safe should not be a hassle or an afterthought. It should be priority number one to avoid these very tragedies.’ Mr Alexander’s death came on January 21, 2018, hours after the Met Office issued a yellow ‘be aware’ warning for heavy snow. An alarm was raised after Mr Alexander failed to return home from a 12-hour shift and he couldn’t be reached on his mobile phone. Police Scotland’s Mountain Rescue Team found the grandfather alive but unresponsive five hours later in deep snow and nearly one mile from the cabin. It is thought he left for a second site cabin in the hope it still had power so he could survive the night. He was airlifted to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary but died on the morning of January 22. Speaking earlier, his daughter Laura said: ‘The only saving grace is rescuers found our dad and the hospital kept him alive long enough so he wasn’t alone at the very end and we got to say goodbye.’