Monday, December 26 2005 14:53 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Banda Aceh (Indonesia): Mourners returned to battered shorelines today (Dec 26, 2005) to mark one year since the Indian Ocean tsunami crashed ashore in a dozen countries, laying waste to coastal communities and sweeping away at least 216,000 lives.

Under a clear sky and before a gentle sea, survivors, friends and relatives of those who died and world leaders commemorated those lost in one of the worst natural disasters the modern world has experienced.

In Indonesia's Aceh province, which was closest to the earthquake that spawned the waves and bore the brunt of the disaster, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono led hundreds of other officials in a minute's silence at a ceremony held on a jetty overlooking the sea.

"It was under the same blue sky, exactly one year ago that mother earth unleashed her most destructive power upon us," Yudhoyono told the gathering. "The assault began with a massive earthquake but that was only a prelude to the horrific catastrophe to come."

Similar periods of silence were to be observed at officials ceremonies in Thailand and Sri Lanka, where flags would be lowered to half-staff and bells rung in remembrance.

Muslim, Christian, Buddhist and Hindu prayers services were being held across the tsunami zone.