A two-minute silence was observed from 9.25 a.m. to 9.27 a.m. yesterday islandwide, as a mark of respect to those who lost their lives in the tsunami disaster that hit the coastal belt of Sri Lanka on December 26, 2004, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said.

The main commemoration ceremony was held at Peraliya in Hikkaduwa, where one of the largest single-rail disasters took place as a result of the tsunami waves.