A nine-year-old girl has died in a two-vehicle crash on a Highland road, prompting a police appeal for witnesses and dashcam footage.

The child was a rear-seat passenger in a Volkswagen Polo that was involved in a collision with a Ford Ranger on the A831 between Drumnadrochit and Cannich at about 17:30 on Wednesday. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

A front-seat passenger in the Polo was taken to hospital for treatment. Emergency services, including an air ambulance, attended, and the road was closed for seven hours while an investigation was carried out.

Police Scotland said inquiries were continuing to establish the full circumstances. The force is asking to hear not only from people who saw the collision but also from anyone who saw either vehicle beforehand.

Appeal for witnesses

Sergeant Kate Finlayson said: ‘Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the girl who died, and inquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances.’

She added: ‘I am appealing for anyone who witnessed the crash or the vehicles prior to contact us. I would also ask anyone who was in the area and who may have dashcam footage that could assist to please get in touch.’

The request for accounts of the vehicles before the collision broadens the appeal beyond people who were present at the point of impact. Someone who travelled through the area around that time may have recorded either vehicle without witnessing the crash itself.

Drivers who have relevant footage can contact Police Scotland through its published contact channels. The force’s appeal is for information that could assist investigators; the announcement does not identify a cause or attribute responsibility to either driver.

Where the collision happened

The crash took place on the approximately 13-mile stretch of the A831 linking Drumnadrochit and Cannich, south of Inverness. Drumnadrochit lies beside Loch Ness, while Cannich is at the end of Strathglass.

The route passes through a sparsely populated landscape of farms, forests and lochs. It connects communities inland from Loch Ness and carries people travelling between the two villages and the surrounding countryside.

The seven-hour closure allowed the investigation to take place after emergency crews attended. The length of the closure is a confirmed part of the police account, but it does not establish how the collision happened or indicate the condition of either vehicle before the incident.

An air ambulance was among the emergency services sent to the scene. Its attendance should not be taken as evidence that any particular treatment was provided, or that a person was transported by air; those details were not included in the report announcing the child’s death.

What has been confirmed

The confirmed account identifies two vehicles, the approximate time and location, the death of a rear-seat passenger and hospital treatment for a front-seat passenger in the Polo. It also records the emergency response, the road closure and the continuing investigation.

The report does not give a clinical update on the injured passenger. It does not establish the weather, speed of either vehicle or any other factor that may have contributed to the collision. Those questions remain separate from the facts already released.

No finding of fault has been announced. The involvement of two vehicles in a fatal collision does not, on its own, support a conclusion about the conduct of either driver or the events immediately before impact.

Information sought as inquiries continue

Police are seeking first-hand observations and recordings that may help establish the sequence of events. Their request includes footage from the area, which could be relevant even if the driver recording it did not realise at the time that it might assist a later inquiry.

The appeal remains the immediate public step in the investigation. Anyone who believes they saw the vehicles on the A831 around the time of Wednesday’s collision, or has relevant dashcam footage, has been asked to contact officers. The force has offered its condolences to the girl’s family and friends while work to establish the circumstances continues.