Stonehaven train crash: Four firefighters injured during ‘extremely hazardous’ emergency response

Four firefighters were injured yesterday at the ‘extremely hazardous’ scene of the train crash in Aberdeenshire that killed three people onboard.

The 6:38am Inter7City train from Aberdeen to Glasgow was derailed by a landslide on the track between Stonehaven and Carmont at around 9:45am on Wednesday.

It came in the wake of large thunderstorms across Scotland on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, with 79mm of rain falling in Stonehaven in just 24 hours.

Emergency services personnel are seen at the scene of a train crash near Stonehaven in northeast Scotland. (Photo by Michal Wachucik / AFP)

The train’s driver Brett McCullough, and its conductor Donald Dinnie, were both killed in the crash, along with one passenger. Six others were injured.

This morning, Paul Stewart, Assistant Chief Officer at the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, confirmed that four firefighters were injured during the massive emergency response to the incident.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Stewart said: “We deployed a number of crews to the train crash at Stonehaven, including some specialist teams around urban search and rescue and our line rescue teams in order to assist with accessing the scene.

“It was clearly a very difficult and hazardous scene yesterday, and it remains so,” he said.

“We did have the unfortunate event of four firefighters receiving minor injuries yesterday; two of which attended hospital for precautionary check ups, and two of which remained at the scene.”

“We take the safety of our crews very seriously indeed,” Mr Stewart insisted, but said the tough terrain and difficulty accessing the site of the crash were issues firefighters were “well able to manage and deal with.”

“My thoughts and the thoughts of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service are with all those affected by this significant and tragic incident,” he added.

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