ROME - Some 4,400 migrants were rescued off the Libyan coasts on Saturday, the Italian coast guard said on Sunday.

It appeared one of the biggest operation carried out so far by naval multinational forces involved in the European Union (EU) Triton rescue mission in the Mediterranean Sea, according to local media.

Italy's navy ships and coast guard patrol boats, together with at least two other vessels from Norway and Ireland, carried out 22 rescue operations overall to pick up the migrants, who were sailing aboard overcrowded crafts and inflatables, Italian authorities added.

A military aircraft was also involved in the saving operations.

No casualties were reported in the operations, which had been launched after several distress calls were received, the coast guard added.

Two major missions on Saturday were carried out by Italian navy vessels Fiorillo and Diciotti, which rescued 432 and 507 people respectively crammed aboard two wooden crafts at risk of sinking off the coasts of Libya, Italian authorities said.

Three other migrant boats were signaled in the waters of the Canal of Sicily between Italy and Libya on Sunday morning, and three merchant vessels were asked to approach to the area to provide first aid, according to the coast guard in Rome coordinating the operation.

A first group of 506 rescued people were brought to the Sicilian port of Augusta on Sunday. Some 132 women and 92 minors were among these migrants, who were believed to be mostly refugee- seekers from Eritrea.(Xinhua)