Thirteen people were killed Sunday in a two-vehicle collision in the northern Saudi province of Hael, a civil defence statement said.

The collision between a mini-bus and a four-wheel drive vehicle killed both drivers and eleven female university students while two others suffered "critical" injuries, the statement said.

The mini-bus carrying the university students was on route to Hael University from the village of Hulaifah, 200 kilometres (124 miles) south of Hael city.

Saudi Arabia has one of the world's highest rates of fatalities from car accidents. Police, fearing they might accidentally stop a high-ranking or royal official, are reluctant to stop violators.

In early 2010, the Saudi authorities began implementing an automatic speed-detection camera system both within and between major Saudi cities in the hopes the system will deter traffic violators.

A report by the country's traffic department said in 2010 that some 17 people die on the kingdom's roads daily.