A 52-year-old man was killed and another airlifted to hospital after a two-car smash on a north-east road tonight.
Two other people – believed to be a man and a woman – were also taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary after the accident near Fraserburgh.
A Vauxhall Astra and a Renault collided on the B9033 road to St Combs.
The crash happened at the Inverallochy turnoff around 7.20pm.
Sergeant Rob Warnock from the Aberdeenshire and Moray Road Policing Unit said: “This is a tragic incident that has sadly resulted in a 52 year old man losing his life. Investigations into the cause of the collision are at an early stage and I would urge anyone who witnessed the collision and hasn’t spoken to police to do so.
“Additionally, anyone who may have seen the vehicles prior to the incident is asked to contact us.”
The 52-year-old victim is thought to have been travelling in the Astra with another male, who was taken to hospital by road ambulance.
It is understood the man flown to ARI by an RAF Lossiemouth-based Sea King helicopter had been in the Renault.
He had to be cut free from the vehicle and his female passenger was also taken to hospital.
Police, ambulance, and fire and rescue crews went to the scene of the crash.
And a coastguard rescue team from Peterhead created an emergency landing site in a nearby field to allow the helicopter to touch down.
An coastguard spokesman in Aberdeen said: “Our team went out from Peterhead and helped prepare a landing site, and one of our guys came down to Aberdeen on the helicopter.
“One person had to be extracted from their vehicle by the fire service and airlifted to hospital.”
An coastguard rescue team also met the helicopter when it arrived at ARI.
Police cordoned-off the area around the crossroads where the accident happened.
An ambulance service spokeswoman said: “We had three patients in total, two went by road ambulance and one has gone by helicopter.”
Two fire crews from Fraserburgh were sent to the scene of the crash and they assisted paramedics and helped stabilise the two vehicles.
A fire and rescue spokeswoman said: “We had cutting gear in use and lighting.”
The fire crews had left the scene by 10pm.
The road remained closed last night as police carried out an investigation.