A crew of firefighters were rescued by coastguard teams this morning after getting into trouble in the icy conditions near Fraserburgh.
Six personnel from the town’s fire station were responding to a call this morning when the fire engine slipped on ice into a ditch near Memsie.
The vehicle reportedly became “bogged down” in heavy snow and the crew were unable to move the engine.
Coastguard teams from Fraserburgh and Peterhead were called to help out at around 5.15am and assisted the team.
Fire engine was stuck in heavy snow
The firefighters were responding to reports of an automatic alarm activation when the icy and snowy weather hitting the north and north-east caused the vehicle to slide and get stuck.
A Coastguard spokeswoman said: “We got the call at 5.12am of six firefighters being stuck after a fire engine had slipped in a ditch near Memsie.
“We tasked teams from Fraserburgh and Peterhead to help out. The crew were taken back to the station in Fraserbrugh and we closed things down by 8am.”
Crew members have been described as “safe and well”. The engine was recovered a few hours later.
When asked about the incident, a fire spokesman said: “Crew from Fraserburgh were responding to an alarm activation.
“Due to the weather conditions the engine got bogged down in a ditch. It was gritters that had to attend in the end.
“But they are now back at their home station all safe and well. The fire engine has also been recovered.”
The rescue comes after a yellow warning of snow and ice – which has since been upgraded to an amber warning – is in place until Wednesday.
Drivers are being encouraged to take care as many roads are covered in snow and ice as heavy snowfall is expected across the north and north-east.
Bus services in Turiff have been suspended and wintry conditions have caused several Aberdeenshire schools to close.
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