Support for relatives will be vital as probe into fatal A82 crash continues
Four people, including two young kids, were killed near Fort William
Police say investigations are on-going following an "extremely challenging" fatal crash in the Highlands.
A family of four were killed on Thursday night on the A82 near Torlundy, with the road closed for 11-and-a-half hours.
Among the dead were two girls aged one and three, with a 26-year-old woman and a 25-year-old male passenger also killed.
Superintendent Simon Bradshaw, of Police Scotland Road Policing, said: "Further details will be confirmed in due course but I can confirm that they were a family.
"Specialist officers have been deployed to provide support to their relatives at this extremely difficult time.
A 56-year-old woman who was driving in the other vehicle suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries and was taken to the Belford Hospital in Fort William for treatment.
Despite often attending road incidents, Superintendent Bradshaw said: ""The scene faced by our police officers and emergency partners from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Scottish Ambulance Service was extremely challenging and I would take this opportunity to thank everyone involved for their efforts in the face of such a distressing incident.
"Every loss of life on our roads is a tragedy but the impact on families, friends and entire communities after an incident like this cannot be underestimated. Our thoughts are with everyone who has been involved or affected.
"An investigation is ongoing to establish the full circumstances leading to this tragedy and it would be wrong for me to speculate on the cause at this time.
"We are still in the early stages of the investigation and pulling together evidence from the scene. The families of the deceased will need a lot of support going forward and there's a fair bit of work needed in trying to help them through the aftermath of what's occurred"