Three rubber boats carrying refugees from North Africa to the Italian island of Lampedusa were reported missing and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) believe an estimated 300 people have drowned.

UN officials confirmed that the rubbers boats sank with the refugees onboard based on the statement of the nine survivors that were rescued by the Italian Coast Guard early morning Wednesday.

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The survivors said huge waves "swallowed the boats". Each of the boat carried 100 people, including a 12-year-old refugee.

"The waves were so huge that those who maneuvered the boats were left helpless. The waves just swallowed the rubber boats," the survivors were quoted as saying.

The UNHCR said the ill-fated boats left Libya last Sunday carrying refugees from countries like Iraq, Syria and Mali with the hope of staying away from their war-torn countries and get to Europe.

The boats, however, were ill-equipped and over-crowded, resulting to the reported sinking due to rough sea condition.

Rescue operations are being conducted in the sea waters off Lampedusa with the hope of finding more survivors but experts said the rough sea condition will make it harder for anyone to survive.

UN officials described the incident as a "tragedy on an enormous scale". The UN and other organizations urge the European Union to invest more time and money into its Mediterranean maritime patrols in order to monitor the journey of refugee boats.

Last Monday, another rubber boat carrying 107 passengers from Libya capsized on the same area. All of the passengers, however, were rescued by by the Italian Coast Guards.

Twenty-nine of the rescued passengers, however, died of hypothermia on the journey towards Italy, authorities said.

Tags refugees, Mediterranean Sea Tragedy, Lampedusa