In those oil rigs, the hell of Libya begins, said Marc Reig, the captain of Open Arms, as he looked out on the horizon to glimpse four monstrous structures; structures that sit some 80 nautical miles from the coast of Tripoli.
The image itself is terrifying: two pairs of metal skeletons protrude from the sea and spit fire into the air, illuminating an apocalyptic scene for anyone around.
This is also the place that - guided by the rigs light - some migrants travelling from Libya believe they have reached Italian soil.
Nothing could be further from the truth. These rigs are Mellitah oil and gas extraction centres owned by the Libyan National Oil Company and Italian oil company ENI; the former wanting to revive its oil heyday from the Gaddafi era when 1.6 million barrels of crude were produced a day.
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