Children aged three and one killed with parents in crash

Two young children and their parents have been killed in a crash on the A82 near Fort William.

A 26-year-old woman, a 25-year-old man, a three-year-old girl and a one-year-old girl, who were all in a Mini Cooper, were pronounced dead at the scene.

The two-vehicle collision, which also involved a Ford Fiesta, took place on the A82 by Hillfarm, Torlundy, around 5.30pm on Thursday.

Superintendent Simon Bradshaw, of Police Scotland’s road policing unit, said: “I can sadly confirm that four people have died – a female driver, 26, a male front seat passenger, 25, and two children – both girls aged three and one. All four were travelling in a green Mini Cooper.

“Further details will be confirmed in due course but I can confirm that they were a family. Specialist officers have been deployed to provide support to their relatives at this extremely difficult time.”

The road was closed for around 11 hours after the crash, which also saw the 56-year-old female Fiesta driver taken to hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries.

Supt Bagshaw said the crash scene had been “extremely challenging” for the emergency services involved.

He added: “An investigation is ongoing to establish the full circumstances leading to this tragedy and it would be wrong for me to speculate on the cause at this time.”

Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch and the new finance secretary, tweeted: “This is extremely sad news. Thinking of the families and friends who are dealing with the shock of all of this.”

Police are appealing for anyone who witnessed the crash to contact them on 101.