WARNING: This article contains video with offensive language.
TERRACE BAY, Ont. — Ontario Power Generation says it's working with a contractor to find out what went wrong with the demolition of a water tower at the Aguasabon Generating Station near Terrace Bay.
No one was hurt in the incident, but OPG spokesperson Neal Kelly told TBNewswatch the elevated tank "didn't fall exactly where it was supposed to go" when it was taken down on Saturday afternoon.
Video posted on the Facebook page of Superior Pics of the Lake Superior Region shows the tower striking OPG infrastructure on the ground.
Kelly said a communication line was also ruptured as it fell.
He said the contractor had prepared a cleared area where it expected the tank would land.
"It went slightly off, just outside the planned demolition zone," Kelly said.
He didn't have details on the extent of the damage but said the tower "did land on some equipment. It also took out a communications line...We're assessing the damage and what it will take to get a new surge tank up at Aguasabon."
Video posted on Facebook by Helga Hermes MacKenzie shows the demolition from a different angle.
The tank stood 75 metres off the ground.
Erected in 1948, it was visible from Highway 17 between Terrace Bay and Schreiber.
OPG took the two-unit, 50-megawatt Aquasabon GS offline so the water tower could be replaced.
Kelly said "There will be some delays, I would think, but this just happened Saturday. It was going to take some time to take the old one down and put the new one up. We'll do a full assessment of what happened and will get a new surge tank in place."
The surge tank acts as a pressure relief for the power plant's aqueduct system in the event the spillway isn't available and the station trips offline.
