A north-east road has reopened following a fatal crash.
One man died and two others were seriously injured in the collision on the A947, Aberdeen to Banff road, yesterday morning.
Police, paramedics and four fire crews were called to the scene, near Hattoncrook, at Whiterashes, at about 8.45am.
The road was closed for around 14 hours, reopening shortly before 11pm last night.
The incident involved a silver Ford Focus, a black Volkswagen Golf, a white Volkswagen Transporter and a green Mercedes truck.
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.
Mid-Formartine councillor Andrew Hassan said: “I was saddened to hear about the crash near Hattoncrook on Friday morning, and my thoughts are with the family of the gentleman who passed away, and also the two men taken to hospital to whom I hope are able to make a full recovery.
“I would urge anyone who can assist the police investigation into the incident to contact them.”
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.”
Anyone with information should contact police on 101 quoting incident number 0596 of 11, December.