Nicosia - Seven refugees from Pakistan were injured over night in a explosion in a minefield in the buffer zone between Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus and the Greek Cypriot south, local media reported Friday.

One person was in serious condition, according to the southern Cyprus state radio citing medical personnel at a hospital in the port city of Larnaka.

Another 13 refugees managed to cross the minefield unscathed to reach the Greek Cypriot side of the island.

The refugees said they had arrived in northern Cyprus by ferry from Syria and wanted to enter the European Union via southern Cyprus. The southern half of the island has been an EU member since 2004.

Cyprus has been divided into a Greek Cyriot south and a Turkish Cypriot north since Turkey invaded in 1974 in response to a coup initiated by the military junta then ruling Greece. (dpa)