A “notorious” north-east road will remain closed until Friday after a motorcyclist died in a horrific crash yesterday afternoon.
The accident involving a van and a motorcycle happened on the A980 Torphins-Raemoir route, just east of Campfield Filling Station at Glassel.
The van and the bike were both ablaze when firefighters arrived at the scene. It is thought the biker who died was a man.
Now it has been revealed that the route will remain closed while the council repair damage to the area.
A spokesman for Police Scotland said: “The road is currently closed and has now transferred to a council closure.
“The road will remain closed for some time while they deal with the scene.”
The two male occupants of the van were uninjured as a result of the collision.
Investigating Officer, Sergeant Stephen Milne of the Aberdeen Road Policing Unit said: “This was a very tragic incident and we are still piecing together exactly what happened. I would appeal for anyone who saw the collision who have not yet spoken to us to contact us with any information that they may have.”
Last night, there were fresh calls from locals for new safety measures on the A980 following a series of fatal and serious accidents over the years.
Owner of the nearby Campfield Filling Station, Peter Gray, said: “We have been in business there for 52 years and there has been quite a few accidents on that stretch of road and beyond.
“I suppose it is the volume of traffic and things like that. I wish it would all stop to be honest with you.
“It is a busy road. It would be nice if there was traffic calming measures of some kind for that stretch of the road.
“We don’t have a (reduced) speed limit just now. I have got 350 to 400 cars coming past our filling station.”
Aboyne, Upper Deeside and Donside SNP councillor Geva Blackett said: “Yet again we have another tragic accident on our roads.
“This particular stretch of road is notorious for accidents and when the facts become known I think we need to see if there is anything we can do to make the road safe.
“There has been accident after accident after accident on that stretch. It is just tragic. It is just terrible, my heart goes out to the family and friends involved.”
On Sunday afternoon, Motorcyclist Michael Reid, from the Peterhead area, died following a collision on the A98 Banff-Portsoy road.
In August 2014, a man and woman died on the A980 near Glassel when their Land Rover was involved in a collision.