Two men killed and a third badly injured in A9 collision

TWO men were killed and a third was seriously injured in a two-vehicle crash on the A9 near Kingussie.

A car and a van both burst into flames following the collision at about 9:30pm on Monday on the notorious road between Inverness and Perth.

Four fire crews from Grantown on Spey, Aviemore, Kingussie and Newtonmore were sent to the scene and the trunk road was closed for seven hours while the crash, seven miles south of Aviemore, was investigated.

Northern Constabulary said a man taken to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness had "serious injuries".

A spokesman for the force said: "Police are appealing for witnesses to the accident, in particular a female driver of a dark-coloured Range Rover who was driving south on the A9 at the time of the collision. Witnesses are asked to contact police at Inverness."

No details of the victims were released last night while the identification process is completed.

Campaigners have been calling for many years for improvements to the A9. The 113-mile route between Perth and Inverness is mainly single carriageway, with a series of overtaking lanes on one side of the road.

Last year. 13 people died on the busy stretch of road.

The Scottish Government said it was committed to dualling the route and more than 50 million has been spent on improvements since 2007.

However, transport minister Keith Brown has admitted it could take decades to fully dual the road.