Three people have died in a crash involving bus and cars on the A90.

Emergency services were called to the incident near Drumlithie in Aberdeenshire at 4.30pm on Tuesday.

Three people were pronounced dead at the scene and another four have been taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary for treatment. Their injuries are described as serious but not life-threatening.

Police said a bus, red Renault Megane and silver Forv B Max were involved in the crash.

The road was closed in both directions following the smash, causing tailbacks for miles.

Road policing chief inspector Stewart Mackie said: "This has been a challenging incident for the emergency services to deal with and my thoughts are with the families of all those affected by this.

"I would ask that anyone who witnessed the incident and who hasn't already spoken to the police contacts officers on 101 using reference number 2576 of March 12."

He added: "The road is anticipated to remain closed for some time to allow collision investigation to take place. This is likely to be a complex enquiry that will take some time and I am grateful to the public for their patience while this is carried out."

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman said: "We received a call at 4.31pm to attend road traffic collision on the A90 in Drumlithie.

"We dispatched four ambulances, our special operations team, our trauma team, a helimed resource, a 3RU unit, a patient transport resource and a manager to the scene."