Tsunami memorials begin as Asia mourns disaster 20 years on

The Star

Emotional ceremonies began across Asia on Thursday (Dec 26) to remember the 220,000 people who died two decades ago when a tsunami devastated coastal areas around the Indian Ocean, in one of the worst natural disasters in human history.  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

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00:00Emotional ceremonies began across Asia on Thursday to remember the 220,000 people who

00:08died two decades ago when a tsunami devastated coastal areas around the Indian Ocean in one

00:14of the worst natural disasters in human history.

00:18In Indonesia's Aceh province, where more than 100,000 people were killed, a siren rang out

00:23for three minutes at the Baitur Aman Grand Mosque followed by prayers.

00:28Relatives and family members of the deceased gathered at a mass grave in Uli Lo village.

00:58Meanwhile, Thailand held a ceremony with religious rites for victims of the disaster in southern

01:25Panga province.

01:27Hundreds also visited a tsunami memorial wall near Ban Nam Kem village, where the ceremony

01:33was held, to pay their respects to lost loved ones.

01:37Among them was 62-year-old Urai Sirasuk, who lost her then four-year-old daughter to the

01:42tsunami.

01:43Panga was one of Thailand's hardest-hit provinces, with the disaster claiming 5,400 lives, including

02:11many foreign tourists.

02:13In Sri Lanka, survivors and relatives gathered to gather to remember around 1,000 victims

02:19who died when waves derailed a passenger train.

02:22Mourners boarded the restored Ocean Queen Express and headed to Paralia, the exact spot

02:28where it was ripped from the tracks.

02:30The tsunami claimed the lives of over 30,000 people in Sri Lanka alone.

02:41For more UN videos visit www.un.org

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