Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Two people taken to hospital after two-car crash in Orkney

The A961 was closed for more than 15 hours as police investigated.

general view of blue skies and small beach on the right of the windy road surrounded by fields.
Motorists are being warned to expect significant delays as a diversion route has been imposed. Image: DC Thomson.

Two drivers have been taken to hospital following a serious two-vehicle crash in Orkney.

The crash, involving a white Mitsubishi L200 pickup and a blue Toyota Yaris, happened on the island of South Ronaldsay on the A961 shortly after 11am on Saturday.

Police, firefighters and paramedics were dispatched to the scene and the road was closed for around 15 hours.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service were called to the scene at 11.16am, sending two appliances from Kirkwall and St Margaret’s Hope.

Firefighters worked to make the vehicles safe before leaving the scene.

Police confirmed the vehicles were travelling in opposite directions on the route near St Margaret’s Hope when they collided, landing on their roofs.

Both male drivers were taken to Balfour Hospital for treatment.

The 53-year-old driver of the Mitsubishi L200 was later airlifted to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary where medical staff describe his condition as critical.

The 40-year-old driver of the Toyata Yaris has since been discharged from the hospital after being checked over.

Police appeal for witnesses

Orkney police officers are appealing for anyone who was in the area at the time of the incident to get in touch.

Sergeant Neil MacDonald from Road Policing said: “Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances surrounding this collision and we are appealing for anyone who may be able to assist to please come forward.

“We would like to speak to anyone who was on the road around the time of the incident, who either witnessed what happened or noticed either vehicle prior to the collision. We would particularly urge any motorists with dash-cam footage which could be of significance to get in touch.

“Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 1371 of Saturday, 17 August, 2024.”

Conversation