An air ambulance has been requested to a serious road crash on one of Scotland's most notorious roads with flames and smoke seen billowing from the scene.
Officers say the incident happened on the A9 in the Highlands at Slochd, just after 11.40am today. Emergency services are at the scene with the road currently closed in both directions, with a 65 mile diversion in place.
An image shows traffic building up on the A9 as emergency crews deal with the incident. According to traffic monitoring firm Inrix, a car is believed to have crossed onto the wrong side of the road.
They said: "A9 in both directions closed, queueing traffic due to serious accident between Raigbeg Turn Off and Slochd Summit.
"A vehicle travelling Southbound has crossed over onto the Northbound side of the road, air ambulance has been requested, affecting traffic between Inverness and Dalwhinnie."
The Scottish Ambulance Service said four people have been rushed to hospital.
A spokesperson said: “We received a call at 11:33 to attend a road traffic collision (RTC) on the A9 near to Slochd.
"Five ambulances, three air ambulances and a Prehospital Immediate Care and Trauma (PICT) team attended the scene. Four patients were transported to hospital – two to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and two to Raigmore Hospital, Inverness.”
Traffic Scotland warned on Twitter that motorists faced a 25-minute delay Southbound and a 15-minute delay Northbound.
Commuters are also warned that buses will stop at Aviemore due to the road closures, but passengers will be able to board trains to complete their journeys.
A spokesperson for Scottish Citylink said: "Due to the A9 closure at Slochd Summit, all services heading Northbound to Inverness will terminate at Aviemore.
"Passengers will be transferred onto the next available train going to Inverness with ticket acceptance from Scotrail."
A police spokesperson said: “Around 11.40am on Tuesday 5 July 2022, police received a report of a serious road crash on the A9 near its junction with the A938, south of Carrbridge.
"Emergency services are on the scene and the road is currently closed. Motorists are advised to use an alternative route.”
