Hundreds of Libya refugees land in Italy

ROME: Hundreds of refugees fleeing Libya arrived on the southern Italian island of Lampedusa crammed onto three boats on Friday, with more refugees expected to land later in the day, coast guards said.

The first boat arrived on the outcrop at around 7:00 am (0500 GMT) with 166 refugees including nine women and four children on board. Two others arrived later, one of them carrying 265 people and the other with 150 people on board.

A fourth boat carrying around 200 people that ran into trouble at sea has been reached by a coastguard vessel and is now being escorted to Lampedusa.

A fifth vessel with 500 people on board has also been intercepted.

"By the end of the day around 2,000 migrants are expected to arrive on the island," Ignazio Accomando from the National Institute for the Health of Migrants, a public health body, was quoted by the ANSA news agency as saying.

"They are tired, worn out, dehydrated and with some bruises but overall there are no particularly grave health cases," he said.

Thousands of refugees fleeing the escalating conflict in Libya -- mostly migrant workers originally from sub-Saharan Africa and Asia -- have been arriving in recent weeks on Lampedusa, Italy's southernmost point.

Lampedusa is closer to north Africa than to mainland Italy. (AFP)