A car and lorry crashed into each other on the outskirts of Inverness on a day of disruption for travellers in the Highlands.
Police were called to the incident on the southbound lane of the A9 Wick to Inverness route, just before the Kessock Bridge, at about 10am.
The collision caused major tailbacks on the key route into the Highland capital from the north, with one lane closed for about an hour as officers helped clear the scene.
No-one was believed to be seriously injured in the crash, however.
Emergency services had earlier been called to attend a two-car crash on the A836 between Thurso and Dounreay.
Police, fire and ambulance crews attended the incident at 8.47am, with paramedics believed to have treated those involved for minor injuries.
There was further disruption on the region’s transport network yesterday morning, meanwhile, after passengers were unable to leave Inverness Airport because there was no one there to check their passports.
It is understood that they had to wait for a UK Border Force officer to be sent through from Aberdeen.
The KLM flight from Amsterdam arrived at 10.25am but all 86 passengers on board were told that they had to wait until the passport officer arrived.
It is understood that Inverness Airport has two, full-time border control staff members, but neither one was available.
The Home Office said last night that it was investigating what happened.
Airport staff were made aware of the situation at about 9.30am and it believed that a passport control officer travelled 92 miles from Aberdeen Airport to check passenger documents.
Border Force finished carrying out their checks on passengers at 12.15pm.
No other international inbound or outbound flights were affected by the delay.
A Home Office spokeswoman added: “We apologise to anyone inconvenienced at Inverness Airport.
“Border Force sets high standards for its performance and we are conducting an investigation into what happened today.”
A KLM spokeswoman said it had not been informed of the reason for the staffing problem, adding that it “must have been an unpleasant situation” for the passengers on board this flight.