Three United Nations peacekeepers from Bangladesh were killed and a fourth seriously wounded when their vehicle was hit by an explosive device in the Central African Republic, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday.

"Three peacekeepers from Bangladesh have died after suffering severe injuries," Dujarric said, noting that the wounded soldier was hospitalized in Bouar.

He said the blast happened "when the troops were on patrol in the Koui-Bohong axis, about five kilometers (three miles) from the mission's temporary base in Ouham-Pende prefecture."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "conveys his deepest condolences to the families of the peacekeepers and the people in government of Bangladesh," he added.

The former French colony, one of the poorest countries in the world, was plunged into civil war in 2013.