Thailand to hold 11th tsunami anniversary memorial

KRABI, THAILAND, December 24 (TNA) - Krabi Province in the Thai South, a hardest hit Andaman coastal area in the tsunami catastrophe in late 2004, will hold the 11th anniversary memorial event for the tragedy late this week. Krabi's disaster prevention and mitigation chief Talerngsak Puwayanapong told journalists on Wednesday that his office, in cooperation with several agencies, will organise the 11th anniversary memorial in remembrance of both Thais and foreigners who died from the tragic incident 11 years ago on December 26, 2015. Talerngsak said the memorial event will be held at an activity ground on Phi Phi Island off Krabi Province, where participants will join a merit making ceremony of three religions, including Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, and mass prayers for the victims of the massive tsunami. Krabi Governor Pinit Boonlert will preside over the memorial event, after which a team of divers will lay a stainless wreath at a position 30 metres under the sea and about three kilometres off the Phi Phi Island. The catastrophic tsunami that hit Thailand's six southern Andaman coastal provinces, including Phuket, Phang-nga, Krabi, Trang, Ranong and Satun, on December 26, 2004 claimed about 700 lives, with Krabi's Phi Phi Island being one of the worst hit. (TNA)