Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced a meeting with major companies in the sector in the presence of Zliten municipality officials to follow up on the crisis of rising groundwater levels in the city.

The meeting included geological experts, Zliten municipality officials, and the directors of Waha, Mellita and Brega oil companies, according to a brief statement issued by the NOC.

After recent efforts to lower the water levels failed, the director of the Environmental Sanitation Office in Zliten, Muhammad Abu Qemiza, described the situation as an "environmental disaster".

On Tuesday, Libya's parliament-appointed government declared a state of extreme emergency in the municipality, calling for urgent measures to protect citizens from the dangers of rising groundwater levels.

The head of the Government of National Unity, Abdulhamid Dabaiba, visited the city and stressed the need to adopt the plan submitted by the team of local experts to address the crisis.