Five Scotland fans arriving for Euros crash after driving on wrong side of road

Five Scotland fans have been hurt in a head-on crash after veering onto the wrong side of the road when they arrived in Germany for the Euro 2024 opener.

The driver of the rental car heading to Munich for Scotland’s match with the hosts is suspected of drink-driving after the crash on Friday morning.

Four ambulances and other emergency crews rushed to the scene just after midnight on a road near Weeze Airport, around 40 miles outside Düsseldorf.

All five in the Citroen C3 were injured in the collision and two of the fans are in a serious condition.

Local reports said the fans had arrived from Edinburgh at 11pm and left Weeze airport in a rental car after midnight, but left on the wrong side of the road.

Their Citroen collided head-on with a Mercedes Benz S-Class, being driven by a 45-year-old man from Düsseldorf who was also injured.

All six people involved in the collision were taken to hospital.  Two men, the 25-year-old driver of the Citroen and a 23-year-old passenger, are in serious condition.

It is believed that the crash was caused by the Scottish driver forgetting to drive on the right-hand side after setting off from the airport.

A police spokesman said the accident occurred at 12.10am on the airport ring road “in which two people were seriously injured and four people were slightly injured”.

“A 25-year-old Scotsman was travelling with four other men from Scotland in a rental car, a Citroen C3, after arriving at the airport to travel on to Düsseldorf.

“The five men were a group of friends who had travelled to Germany for UEFA Euro 2024. On the way from the terminal towards the exit, the man from Scotland drove in the lane for oncoming traffic.”

Police said their vehicle then crashed into the Mercedes driven by a local resident on their way to the terminal.

“This resulted in a head-on collision with a Mercedes Benz S-Class driven by a 45-year-old man from Düsseldorf who was travelling towards the terminal. Based on the investigations as part of the accident report, it is suspected that the Scottish driver used the wrong lane due to the left-hand traffic in his home country.

“The driver of the Citroen and a 23-year-old passenger were seriously injured in the accident, while the driver of the Daimler-Benz and three other people in the Citroen were slightly injured.”

Officers said they believed the driver may have been over the alcohol limit when the crash happened.

“All of the people were taken to various hospitals in the region by the emergency services. As the driver who caused the accident was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol, a blood sample was taken from him in the hospital. The Citroen was seized to protect the property.”

Pictures from the scene showed the front of the two cars crumpled together, with suitcases and other belongings strewn across the road.  Paramedics were seen treating casualties on the road and on the grass with one fan seen in a kilt and wearing a tartan hat.

Four ambulances lined the road, while paramedics could be seen treating people on the ground on stretchers and wrapped in medical foil.

Scotland are set to take on hosts Germany in Munich in the Euro 2024 Group A opener, with thousands of Scottish football fans descending on the Bavarian City.

Munich tourist board has said it expects up to 100,000 Scots over the weekend and the British consulate has predicted up to 200,000 Scottish fans will visit Germany during the tournament.