Three people were killed, including the driver, when a passenger train derailed on Wednesday near the Scottish town of Stonehaven, 15 km (9 miles) south of the city of Aberdeen. Six more people were hospitalized.

"Very sadly despite the best efforts of paramedics, we can confirm that three people have been pronounced dead at the scene," British Transport Police said in a statement.

Emergency services were deployed, including ambulance and fire brigades. Smoke could be seen rising from the scene of the accident.

"This is an extremely serious incident," said Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon.

Initial reports said there were 12 people on board the train: six passengers and six staff.

Derailment after 'terrible weather'

Prime Minister Boris Johnson described it as a "very serious incident."

"I am saddened to learn of the very serious incident in Aberdeenshire and my thoughts are with all of those affected. My thanks to the emergency services at the scene," he tweeted.

Local reports said there had been storms and flash flooding in the area overnight.

"We obviously don't know why the derailment took place, but obviously we have suffered terrible weather here," local lawmaker Andrew Bowie said.

Stonehaven is located on the transit route linking Aberdeen with the cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Major rail accidents are rare in the UK. The last fatal derailment was in 2007.

This is an updated version of a previous article

mvb,dr/dj (Reuters, AP, dpa)