Prince Charles meets Stonehaven train crash emergency workers
14 August 2020, 12:17
The Prince of Wales has met witn emergency responders at the scene of the fatal train crash in Stonehaven, Aberdeen.
Prince Charles, known as the Duke of Rothesay while in Scotland, has met emergency service workers who were among the first on the scene of the incident on Wednesday.
Three people were killed when the 6.38am Aberdeen to Glasgow Queen Street ScotRail service derailed near Stonehaven amid heavy rain and landslips.
The train derailed, with two carriages tumbling down the embankment and going up in flames, while another seemed to have been flipped upside down.
A massive multi-agency response was launched to get to the scene and rescue as many people as possible.
Driver Brett McCullough, 45, conductor Donald Dinnie, 58, and passenger Christopher Stuchbury, 62, were all killed in the incident.
It is understood all of those who died were local to the area.
Six other people were injured in the crash - four have since left Aberdeen Royal Infirmary while two remain in a stable condition.
An official investigation is now underway with an inquiry into the causes of the crash launched by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch.
A separate investigation will be carried out by Police Scotland, British Transport Police and rail regulator the Office of Rail and Road.
UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has previously commended the bravery of emergency responders, describing the scene as "horrendous".
On an earlier visit to the site, he said he had spoken with Pc Liam Mercer, who was the first officer to attend the incident.
The Transport Secretary commended the policeman for his bravery in dealing with the rail crash, the likes of which have not been seen in the UK since 2007.
Network Rail will inspect trackside slopes across the country as part of a Government-ordered review as a landslip during heavy rain and flooding is suspected to have played a part in the incident near Stonehaven.
