Prayers mark 10th anniversary of Asian Tsunami

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Friday marked 10 years since a devastating tsunami left more than a quarter of a million people dead in Southeast Asia.

Crying onlookers took part in memorials and religious services across the region.

In Indonesia, the country's vice president led a prayer service.

The disaster happened after a powerful 9.1 magnitude earthquake. Roughly 20 minutes later, a massive wall of water up to 100-feet high came ashore.

More than 170,000 people died in Indonesia alone.

In Thailand, the government held services remembering the more than 5,000 people killed.

Half of the victims there were tourists celebrating the holiday season.

Foreigners from 38 nations died, including 10 Americans.

In Sri Lanka, a train guard was one of the few people to survive when the wall of water slammed into the Ocean Queen train.

The wave killed around 1,000 people aboard.

The train took a special journey on Friday to commemorate all the victims of the tsunami. Every year, the train stops at the exact same spot to commemorate the victims.