One man has died and two others are seriously injured following a four-vehicle crash on the A947 Aberdeen to Banff road.
The incident involved a silver Ford Focus, a black Volkswagen Golf, a white Volkswager Transporter and a green Mercedes truck.
Police, paramedics and four fire crews were called to the scene, near Hattoncrook, at Whiterashes, at about 8.45am.
The 62-year-old driver of the Transporter was pronounced dead at the scene.
His passenger, a 58-year-old man, was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI) with serious injuries.
The 24-year-old male driver of the Ford Focus was also taken to hospital in a serious condition.
The drivers of the other vehicles, who were travelling alone, were uninjured.
The road remains closed to allow for collision investigation to be carried out at the scene.
Pictures from the scene show one lorry across the carriageway, with two other vehicles in a field next to the road.
North-east road blocked as emergency services attend ‘serious’ three-vehicle crash
Police are appealing for witnesses to help them piece together what happened.
Sergeant Alexander Bowser-Riley, of the roads policing unit, said: “Sadly this collision has resulted in the death of one man and the serious injury of two others.
“Our inquiries into the cause of the crash are continuing and I would ask anyone who saw what happened, and has not yet spoken to officers, to please contact us.
“I would also like to speak with any motorists who were using the A947 this morning and may have seen any of the vehicles involved or who may have dashcam footage of them.
“The road will remain closed until our crash investigations are complete and I would urge the public to avoid the area until the road reopens.”
Four fire service appliances from Oldmeldrum, Inverurie, North Anderson Drive, and Ellon were also in attendance.
A spokeswoman for the fire service said: “We were in attendance at an RTC on the A947 between Dyce and Oldmeldrum. We received a call from the police at 8.54am.
“Four appliances are on the scene from Oldmeldrum, Inverurie, Ellon, and North Anderson Drive.”
Anyone with information should contact police on 101 quoting incident number 0596 of 11, December.