A NUMBER of people have been injured after a bus crashed and overturned in the Highlands.
Emergency services said they were faced with with around six casualties after the single-decker Stagecoach bus collided with a bridge near the village of Munlochy on the Black Isle.
The bus ended up on its side and fire crews had to work to free a passenger who had become trapped inside.
The injured were taken to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness for treatment. Police said no further details were being released at this time.
A total of four fire crews, police and ambulance personnel were all called to attend the scene of the accident, which occurred at 5:45pm.
The road was closed in both directions while diversions were put in place.
A police spokesman said: "Police Scotland officers are currently dealing with a road traffic accident on the B9161 at Littlemill Bridge south-east of Munlochy.
"A bus has collided with a bridge and is currently on its side. There are a number of casualties and the road is blocked in both directions.
"The public are advised to avoid the area and take an alternative route."
A fire service spokeswoman said three fire engines and the brigade's heavy rescue unit were in attendance.
She added: "Firefighters safely removed one casualty who was trapped from the bus. The person was passed to colleagues from the Scottish Ambulance Service for treatment.
"Five other casualties were assisted from the bus. We remain in attendance."
The accident happened near the village of Munlochy. Pic: Google
Any concerned relatives seeking more information or members of the public who witnessed the accident are asked to contact Police Scotland.
A Stagecoach North Scotland spokesman said: “We can confirm there has been a serious road accident on the Black Isle in the Munlochy area involving one of our services operating between Inverness and Cromarty.
“Emergency services are at the scene of the accident. Our first thoughts are for those affected and their families.
“Safety is our absolute priority and we are supporting the police and the emergency services in any way that we can, including helping establish the circumstances involved.”
Kate Forbes, the SNP MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, tweeted: "Very concerned and sorry to see this news. Thoughts with everybody involved, particularly those who are hurt."
Meanwhile, two drivers sustained minor injuries when a school bus hit a house after being involved in a crash with a car.
Emergency services were called to the collision at Carnbroe Road in Coatbridge,
North Lanarkshire, at around 3.15pm yesterday afternoon. No pupils were on the bus at the time.
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: "A bus and a car appear to have collided before the bus collided with a house.
"The drivers of both vehicles were treated at the scene for minor injuries and no pupils were on board at the time."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here