Phuket: Phuket province held a merit-making ceremony to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the tsunami that struck the Andaman coast.
According to Thai News Agency, the event was a multi-religious ceremony dedicated to those who lost their lives in the catastrophic tsunami on December 26, 2004.
At the Mai Khao Cemetery in the Mai Khao Subdistrict of Thalang District, families of the deceased gathered to perform religious rites in accordance with Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity. The ceremony was presided over by Mr. Boonchu Chanwong, Chief Justice of the Phuket Administrative Court. After the rites, families laid flowers at the cemetery wall, which bears the names of citizens from 43 countries who perished in the tsunami.
The tsunami was triggered by a 9.1 magnitude undersea earthquake near Sumatra Island. It impacted six southern provinces along Thailand’s Andaman coast: Phuket, Phang Nga, Ranong, Krabi, Trang, and Satun. The disaster resulted in approximately 5,400 deaths, over 8,000 injuries, and many missing persons, with Phang Nga province suffering the highest number of casualties, followed by Phuket and Krabi.