A 13-year-old boy was behind the wheel during the crash.

Nine people have been killed following a head-on-collision on the West Texas Highway in the US. As CNN reports, a 13-year-old boy was behind the wheel of a car and driving on the wrong side of the road when he hit a van which was carrying students from the University of Southwest. Six students and their coach were killed, as well as the unnamed boy and his co-passsenger, 38-year-old Henrich Siemens. The students have been named as Mauricio Sanchez, 19, Travis Garcia, 19, Jackson Zinn, 22, Karisa Raines, 21, Laci Stone, 18, and Tiago Sousa, 18. Their coach has been named as 26-year-old Tyler James. Two others were critically injured in the collision - 19-year-old Dayton Price and 20-year-old Hayden Underhill. They are currently being treated in hospital. The University's Provost, Ryan Tipton, described their condition as "stable", and said that they are making progress. The students were travelling home after attending a golf tournament in Midland, Texas. Bruce Landsberg, a transport spokesperson, described the incident as "clearly a high speed collision". It's understood that the van carrying the students exploded into a ball of flames after the collision. Many tributes have been pouring in for the students, and the University of Southwest has made counselling services available to the students and staff at the college. In a statement shared on Facebook, the University of Southwest said that their community is "shocked and saddened today as we mourn the loss of members of our university family". Texas Governor Greg Abbott said: "We grieve with the loved ones of the individuals whose lives were horrifically taken too soon in this fatal vehicle crash near Andrews last night." New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, meanwhile, said that she is "deeply saddened" by the loss of life. An investigation into the collision is ongoing.