Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has declared the Stonehaven train derailment a major incident, as dozens of emergency vehicles were deployed to the scene after the wrecked train caught fire on Wednesday.
“This is an extremely serious incident,” the Scottish leader said in a Twitter statement. “I’ve had an initial report from Network Rail and the emergency services and am being kept updated. All my thoughts are with those involved.”
The alarm was raised shortly after 9:40am local time after a passenger train derailed near Stonehaven, some 15km south of Aberdeen.
UK Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps has been briefed on the incident and confirmed that British Transport Police & Network Rail resources had been deployed to the scene amid a major operation.
Around 30 emergency vehicles including an air ambulance are now at the scene with more continuing to arrive. pic.twitter.com/4S8GUkVDM0
