Two lorry drivers were seriously injured in a crash in north Fife on Monday.
Emergency services rushed to the scene on the A914 between Forgan roundabout and Drumoig after receiving reports that two heavy goods vehicles had collided shortly before 10.40am.
Both drivers had to be cut free from their cabs and were taken by ambulance to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, where they were understood to be receiving treatment for various injuries.
One of the drivers is thought to have suffered serious spinal injuries and was tended to by Ninewells’ trauma team while the other driver was treated for impact chest injuries by a doctor at the scene before also being transported to hospital.
Both were said to be breathing and conscious as the emergency services worked to free them from the wreckage, although the extent of their injuries has not been confirmed.
At one point, two police vans headed off the junction at the road, with officers in high visibility jackets directing traffic onwards and away from the crash route.
At the scene, part of the smaller lorry’s front cab lay crumpled in a field while pieces of shattered windscreen and other debris littered the road.
The front of the larger Kingsmill bread lorry had been cut off.
The incident took place near a bend around a mile south of the Forgan roundabout, prompting the closure of the route for several hours as police and crash investigators combed the wreckage and removed debris from the road surface.
Traffic was diverted further along the A92 until well into the afternoon, which caused motorists difficulties throughout the day.
Sergeant Derek Allan, from Fife police’s road policing unit, appealed for witnesses to the incident to come forward.
”This was a serious collision, which saw two men being injured and caused substantial congestion on a very busy road,” he said. ”Inquiries are continuing and I would ask anyone with any information about this incident to call Fife Constabulary.”
Sergeant Allan praised the efforts of emergency services who worked quickly to free the trapped drivers, adding: ”The priority was getting the casualties out of the vehicles and transporting them to hospital.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service said it had two crews at the scene, along with a rapid response unit, and the trauma team from Ninewells were also summoned when the severity of the incident became clear.
The incident also challenged Fife Fire and Rescue Service, which sent two appliances from Cupar, two from Lochgelly and one from Tayport.
The heavy rescue unit from Lochgelly was also called upon to help release the drivers free from their vehicles, while a further fire engine from Tayside also attended.