Two dead after A952 car and van crash in Aberdeenshire
Two people have died and another was seriously injured in a crash between a car and van in Aberdeenshire.
The accident happened at about 18:20 on the A952 Mintlaw to Fraserburgh road, near the Hythie junction.
The male driver, 80, and a 77-year-old female passenger in one of the vehicles died.
The male driver, in his 40s, of the other vehicle was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary after suffering what were described as serious injuries.
There were no further casualties in the incident. The vehicles involved were a red Vauxhall Corsa and a white Vauxhall Corsa van.
The road was closed to enable investigators to carry out a detailed examination of the scene.
Sgt David Pirie of the Aberdeenshire Road Policing unit said: "Obviously our thoughts and condolences go out to the families of those involved at this terrible time, and I would appeal to anyone who witnessed either of the vehicles being driven near the locus about the time to come forward.
"I am keen to establish the full facts and circumstances to identify the cause of this tragedy".
A Fire Scotland spokeswoman said: "We got a call at 18:19 to a two car accident and sent two fire appliances to deal with it. We had to extricate a casualty from one of the vehicles."