4000 Seek Refuge Underground In Beirut

Misery rules in tomb of living dead

In an abandoned parking station on the outskirts of Beirut, about 4000 people have taken refuge four storeys underground. There is no sunlight, no fresh air, no phone signal.

The place is cut off, except for a staircase wide enough for one person at a time. Five giant air-conditioners circulate the stale air, which reeks of human waste. "People should not have to live here. It's inhumane," said one refugee, Raed Abbas. "We're like the walking dead, already buried underground even though we're still alive."