Ceremonies held across Asia to mark 20 years since Boxing Day tsunami
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Waves towering up to 30 metres killed more than 220,000 people in 15 countries in deadliest tsunami in history. Ceremonies were held in countries across Asia on Thursday to remember the more than 220,000 people who were killed two decades ago in the Indian Ocean Tsunami, the most deadly tsunami in history.
![[Railway guards of the Queen of the Sea train and family members of the victims arrive in Peraliya for a special memorial to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 2004 tsunami.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/da7d9acc339a48dc0477c0c48bfa336aa85c7767/0_2_6982_4190/master/6982.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
On 26 December 2004, a 9.1-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia’s Sumatra island, triggering huge waves that slammed into coastal communities across the Indian ocean. The waves, which towered as high as 30 metres, killed 227,899 people across 15 countries.
![[Zainal Abidin, 68, sits on the site where buildings were destroyed by the 2004 tsunami ]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/48dc95bf0ad0c262fa36334ae7eec28a67d0d17e/0_258_6048_3627/master/6048.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
In Indonesia’s Aceh province, the worst hit area, a siren rang out for three minutes at the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque on Thursday morning, after which Islamic prayers were held. Families visited mass graves across Banda Aceh, the provincial capital.
The tsunami killed more than 160,000 people in Indonesia alone. The scale of the disaster meant many families were never able to identify the remains of their loved ones. In Sri Lanka, where more than 35,322 people were killed, Buddhist, Hindu, Christian and Muslim ceremonies were held across the country, and two minutes of silence were observed.
Survivors and relatives also gathered to remember victims of the Ocean Queen Express train disaster, when a train was torn from its track by the tsunami’s waves. About 1,000 passengers died on board the train packed for the holidays. On Thursday, mourners boarded the restored Ocean Queen Express, which traveled to Peraliya, about 90km (56 miles) south of Colombo, where the tragedy occurred.
