A 91-year-old woman has died in a house fire in Moray.
Emergency services were called to Clark Street in Hopeman at about 4.30pm on Sunday and continued to battle the flames until the early hours of yesterday morning.
Yesterday, fire crews launched an investigation into the cause of the devastating blaze.
Drones were used by police officers to look inside the home due to the structure being too unsafe for personnel to enter.
The equipment, brought in from Inverness, circled the coastal property and took images from the air to assist investigators working to establish the cause of the fatal blaze.
The fire has shocked the community with many sending condolences to the loved ones of the pensioner who died.
Dennis Slater, chairman of Hopeman Community Association, said: “At this time all our thoughts go out to the family and everyone who has been affected by this.
“It has stunned everyone in the village, it’s a shocking thing to have happened. It really has affected everybody.”
Police officers maintained a vigil outside the home yesterday morning until investigators arrived at about 10am.
Smoke could still be seen rising from the home as the area was sealed off for examinations to begin.
Neighbours remained shocked yesterday at the large-scale operation that unfolded on their doorstep with eight fire engines sent to the scene as well a crane unit to provide assistance from above.
Volunteers also offered to open the nearby Memorial Hall to rescue workers as a base of operations if needed.
One local said: “It was an awful thing to see. Word spread fast so there was reasonable crowd there in the end that had to be kept back. It’s a terrible thing to have happened.
“The fire crews were here past 12.30am when I went to bed.”
Specialist police officers manoeuvred the drone to take images inside the home, which no longer has an intact roof following the incident.
The equipment, which was brought into use last year, has been launched with the aim of supporting emergency responses as well as the management of events and searches for missing or vulnerable people.
Police have confirmed there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the fire.
A spokeswoman said: “A 91-year-old woman has died following a fire at a house in Clark Street in Hopeman on Sunday.
“Emergency services were called to the address at 4.25pm on Sunday afternoon and inquiries are continuing.
“There do not appear to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding the death and a full report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal.”
