New Guinea Lowers Estimate of Missing

VANIMO, Papua New Guinea —  Saying the chaos after three giant waves hit Papua New Guinea prevented an accurate count, the government Saturday lowered its estimate of the number of missing people from 6,000 to 2,000.

A precise tally was impossible until survivors could be interviewed, said Chris Hawkins, press secretary to Prime Minister William Skate.

Many residents had fled inland after the tsunami, triggered by an earthquake off the coast, crashed against an 18-mile stretch of the island’s northwestern coast July 17.

The death toll stands at 1,500, an increase from previous estimates. At least 500 people were in critical condition, Hawkins said. About 4,500 people were homeless.

Four dogs and 10 handlers from the Florida Rescue and Response Center joined the international rescue and cleanup effort.

Team leader Art Wolff said Saturday that they had not found any survivors since they began searching Friday. But the team uncovered 40 bodies caught in debris still floating in Sissano Lagoon.

“It reminds me of Hurricane Andrew,” Wolff said, referring to the storm that hit Florida’s coast in 1992. “There was devastation everywhere.”