Kuta (Indonesia): Hindu religious priests led hundreds of villagers and tourists in solemn ceremony on October 18 at the site of a massive car bomb explosion which has been turned into a floral shrine for those killed.

As a low, mournful chant was played on loudspeakers, crowds carrying flowers and wreaths trudged along the narrow Raya Legian Street to Bali's "Ground Zero", where bars and shops lay in ruins.

They were allowed in groups inside a police cordon to say prayers and lay the flowers outside the ruins of what was once the Aloha Bar, on whose doorstep a mountain of colourful wreaths has sprouted.

In the afternoon ceremony, hundreds of residents from Bali's districts of Kuta, Legian and Seminyak jammed the street for the rites aimed at seeking forgiveness and pleading for a better life after the October 12 blast.

Although a part of largely Muslim Indonesia, most of Bali's three million people follow the Hindu faith.

Most of the dead were young foreign tourists packed in two bars targetted by the bombers, believed to be linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network.

Many in the crowd broke down in tears. Others were in deep prayer during the one- hour ceremony, which was heavily guarded by soldiers and police.

Before the ceremony the priests walked towards the site, followed by local political leaders and Balinese women carrying trays of fruit, incense, flower petals and holy water.

The trays were laid on a table in front of the flattened Padi's Bar, which was the main target of the bomb as the priests and other religious leaders emitted a prolonged chant.

People, many of them dressed in colourful dresses, skirts and headscarves, squatted on the street and on the sidewalk. The crowd also included foreign tourists. Hindu priests garbed in white costumes and headscarves then toured the devastated block, sprinkling holy water on the ruins of buildings, burnt cars and other debris.

One priest scattered yellow rice grains while others threw flower petals.

"I am very happy about the turnout. Not only Hindus attended but also Christians and Muslims," said Made Sumer, 54, the vice regent of the Badung regency which covers Bali's Central district of Kuta.

"I hope this will speed up the healing process after this bitter tragedy," he told AFP.

Suriatmaja Ibg, the Speaker of Bali's Parliament, said the ceremony was a form of "apology to the Gods who might have been angry for any mistakes that we made".

It also commends the souls of the dead to the Gods as they enter the "spirit world" and asks the Gods for a better life for the living, he said.

Australian detectives gathering evidence from the debris stopped work to watch the ceremony.

Since early October 18, groups have been constantly arriving at the ruins to lay wreaths and flowers and say prayers.