Abuja  - At least 43 soldiers died when a vehicle from their convoy slammed into a petrol tanker in north-east Nigeria, army spokesman Brigadier-General Emeka Onwumaegbu said Thursday.

Onwumaegbu said the soldiers were returning from a peacekeeping mission in Darfur, western Sudan, when the accident occurred near the town of Potiskum on Wednesday night.

Three people were receiving treatment in hospital, according to Emmanuel Okeke, Sector Commander of the state-run Federal Road Safety Commission in Yobe State.

Onwumaegbu said the dead, who included a captain, would be buried with full military honours as "they died in active service."

The soldiers were part of African Union (AU) force serving in Darfur, where hundreds of thousands have died and millions have been displaced by five years of civil war.

Serious accidents are an almost everyday occurrence on Nigeria's poorly-maintained road network. (dpa)