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Sri Lanka connected Friday (December 26, 2025) commemorated the 21st day of the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, which killed implicit 35,000 radical successful the land nation.
The nationalist ceremonial was marked by a two-minute soundlessness observed crossed the land betwixt 9:25 a.m. and 9:27 a.m., coinciding with the clip the elephantine waves struck the country's coastline connected December 26, 2004.
The main commemoration took spot astatine Peraliya, astir 90 km southbound of Colombo, the tract of the worst obstruction catastrophe successful Sri Lanka’s history, wherever implicit 1,000 radical were killed erstwhile the tsunami deed a rider train.
The Ocean Queen train, travelling from Colombo cardinal presumption to the confederate metropolis of Matara, was deed by monolithic oversea waves of implicit 1,000 feet that swept crossed the tracks, toppling respective carriages.
While hundreds of bodies were recovered, 141 passengers stay unaccounted for. In a tribute, the bid halted astatine Peraliya astatine 9:26 a.m., arsenic it does each year, successful remembrance of the passengers and residents who had climbed onto the bid seeking refuge from the rising waters.
"Janaka Fernando, the motor driver, died on with his assistant. We retrieve them with heavy sorrow,” RM Wijesuriya, who piloted the memorial tally connected Friday, told reporters.
Oil lamps were lit and prayers offered astatine the tract to honour the victims.
The tsunami was triggered by a monolithic 9.1-magnitude earthquake disconnected Indonesia's Sumatra island, affecting respective countries crossed the region.
This year's commemoration comes amid lingering grief from different earthy disaster, Cyclone Ditwah, which struck Sri Lanka precocious past month, sidesplitting astir 700 radical and leaving hundreds missing arsenic authorities proceed to measure the damage.
