Fifty-five Syrian migrants were brought back to land by Albanian authorities after being stranded for hours in rough waters in the Adriatic sea in an effort to reach Italy, police said on Saturday.

The Syrians, including women and children, were trapped by bad weather for more than three hours in an inflatable boat off Albania's Adriatic coastline on Friday, police from the port town of Vlore said.

"The rescue operation and evacuation of the people on board took place in very bad conditions in the midst of a storm and high waves at sea", the police statement said.

Sixteen of the boat passengers, including three children, were hospitalised afterwards, while the others are expected to be brought to a migrant centre.

Albania is a key transit country for many migrants and refugees from Asia, Africa and the Middle East who are trying to reach Western Europe via the so-called Balkan route.

Despite the pandemic, the number of intercepted migrants passing through Albania more than tripled in 2020 compared to the year prior, police data shows.