Two in hospital after bus crashes down embankment on A9

Two people have been taken to hospital after a bus crashed down an embankment on the A9 north of Aviemore.

A major emergency response involving firefighters, ambulance crews and police was triggered after it left the road near the Granish Junction at about 9:40 on Sunday.

Police Scotland said two people were taken to hospital for treatment but no details were given about the extent of their injuries.

The bus was an electric vehicle heading to Edinburgh from Inverness, operated by Ember. The A9 was closed for about two hours but has now reopened.

Images from the scene show the large turquoise bus halfway down a grassy slope at the side of the road with about a dozen emergency service personnel attending.

George Rennie was travelling home to Inverness from Glasgow on another Ember service which arrived at the scene to pick up casualties from the crashed bus.

He said they spent nearly two hours at the scene and around seven shaken up passengers boarded before being dropped off at Aviemore Train Station to travel on to the capital.

He told BBC Scotland News "Just as we were approaching the junction we had to turn back.

"Our bus driver received a message and told him to turn back. Then we heard anyone who was not injured would be coming on board so the company could take them away from the scene.

"Around nine people got on - most of them just had cuts and bruises from the impact."

The passengers reported that the coach tipped while turning at a junction and they had no idea something was wrong until they heard a loud bang.

Rennie continued: "When the passengers got on they told us only half of them were wearing seatbelts.

"One guy was thrown to the floor and another smacked his face on the seat which cut his lip.

"The others said they were just relaxing before they heard a huge crash and saw the front window smash inwards.

"A lot of people flew forward and banged their heads on seats."

A spokesperson for Ember confirmed one of their fleet was involved in a single vehicle collision on 12 April.

He continued: "We would like to offer our thanks to the emergency services for their support, and we are of course fully supporting the police with their investigations."