Serious Injuries After Train Derails in Scotland

Police and paramedics were responding Wednesday to a train derailment in northeast Scotland, where smoke could be seen rising from the site. Officials said there were reports of serious injuries.

The British Transport Police force said officers were called at 9:43 a.m. (local time) to the railway line near Stonehaven, about 100 miles northeast of Edinburgh, where a train had derailed.

Police, several ambulances, an air ambulance and fire engines were at the scene.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told Scottish lawmakers initial reports suggested there were “serious injuries.” She tweeted that it was “an extremely serious incident.”

“I’ve had an initial report from Network Rail and the emergency services and am being kept updated. All my thoughts are with those involved,” she said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a tweet that it was a “very serious incident” and “my thoughts are with all of those affected.”

Local lawmaker Andrew Bowie said one hospital in nearby Aberdeen had declared a major incident. Stonehaven is on the line for passenger trains linking Aberdeen with the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow. The hilly area was hit by storms and flash flooding overnight.

“We obviously don’t know why the derailment took place, but obviously we have suffered terrible weather here,” Bowie said.

Serious train accidents are rare in the U.K. The country’s last fatal derailment was in 2007.