Two people have died in a crash on the Dundee-Aberdeen dual carriageway.
Two others were injured in the two-car accident, just north of Laurencekirk, which completely closed the trunk road and brought lengthy diversions for motorists.
The accident happened just after 4pm on the northbound A90, just north of the junction with the unclassified road at Powburn, near Fordoun.
Grampian Police said a silver Vauxhall Astra estate and a black Saab 93 estate were involved.
The Scottish Ambulance Service and Grampian Fire and Rescue rushed to the scene, with two fire appliances from Stonehaven and a third from Laurencekirk in attendance. Firefighters were involved in cutting casualties free from the wreckage.
A 38-year-old occupant of the Saab was reported to have wrist injuries and was airlifted to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.
A90 southbound traffic was diverted via Stonehaven on to the A92 coast road and the road was expected to be closed well into the early hours of the morning.
Vehicles travelling north were also moved on to the A92, via the B9120 Hill of Garvock road at Laurencekirk, a couple of miles south of the accident.
Although the cause of the crash is yet to be determined, the double fatality is likely to lead to renewed calls for safety improvements on the stretch of road through the Mearns, centred on the flyover campaign at the Laurencekirk junction.
Angus North and Mearns MSP Nigel Don recently raised the issue with the Scottish Parliament’s petitions committee, pointing out a discrepancy between two parts of the A90. The stretch of road from Perth to Dundee has four crossings in 20 miles that enable cars to avoid the dual carriageway, but the stretch from Brechin to Stonehaven has none.
Transport Scotland and Aberdeenshire Council cannot agree over who should finance any new flyover in the area and both bodies have now been called to Holyrood to give evidence.
Any member of the public who may have witnessed yesterday afternoon’s incident has been asked to contact Grampian Police on the 101 non-emergency number.
Last night Aberdeenshire councillor Jean Dick expressed her sympathies to the people involved in the tragedy.
“It is just dreadful. It makes you shudder and I would just send my condolences to the families of the two people who have died and best wishes to those that have been injured,” she said.
She described the A90 running through the Mearns as a “death trap”.
“In January and February there have been an awful lot of accidents.
“There has, of course, been a lot of bad weather, and we do not know the circumstances of this accident so I do not know how we can actually relate this particular accident or other crashes to the junction campaign, but people treat dual carriageways like motorways and they are not.
“There are people crossing this dual carriageway all the way along and it’s a death trap.”