Australian detention center on Papua New Guinea loses power

SYDNEY – Australia's detention center for asylum seekers on a Papua New Guinea island has lost power and working toilets for the 606 men refusing to leave because they fear the alternatives are unsafe.

The center inside a Manus Island navy base was declared closed Tuesday afternoon following a court ruling last year that it was illegal.

The Sydney-based Refugee Action Coalition said the removal of electricity generators Wednesday morning left the center without power, including toilets operating on electrical pumps.

The coalition has requested an injunction stopping the center's closure, but spokesman Ian Rintoul says the first night without guards at the center passed peacefully.

Some threats of violence against the men had been made. But Rintoul also said locals donated or sold food and water to the men inside.