Twenty-one killed in road accident in Saudi Arabia

RIYADH, Aug 5 (Reuters) Twenty-one people were killed when two vehicles collided on a highway near Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port city of Jeddah, a newspaper reported today.

Al-Riyadh newspaper said the accident occurred yesterday when a vehicle carrying 14 Yemenis and two Saudis tried to avoid a police checkpoint by going around it, and rammed into an incoming car carrying five passengers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Sudan.

Road traffic authority officials could not be reached for comment.

Around 4,000 people die each year in road accidents in Saudi Arabia mainly due to recklessness.

REUTERS SY BST1709