A number of residents in the city of Jalu (eastern Libya) suffered breathing difficulties and fainted early Tuesday morning due to inhaling polluted air saturated with oil and gas emissions from oil field operations in neighboring oil companies, according to eyewitnesses cited by the Libyan News Agency.
The Libyan News Agency cited eyewitnesses as saying that some elderly people were transferred after fainting and suffocating during dawn prayers due to the strong smell from Station 102 in the Nafoora field of the Arabian Gulf Company and Al-Waha field 59. They attributed this incident to "the burning of natural gas and oil waste, and the unpleasant smells and direct and heavy air pollution resulting from carbon dioxide, methane gas, and others."
The complaints of Jalu institutions, notables, and residents to the National Oil Corporation and successive governments about the burning of gas have been repeated, as they have demanded radical and healthy treatment in order to save the lives of residents, and the innovation of scientific methods that accompany the environment in oil exploration.
Environmental specialist Omar Mohammed said: “Victims can sue the companies’ managements and demand large compensations for what happened to them, their property and their farms from the neighboring fields.”
The sky over Jalu has been pillowed by a black cloud covering the horizon, coming from the basins, ponds and oil and gas wells that surround the area from all sides, according to the Libyan News Agency.
