YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, May 28 (RIA Novosti) -Mourning ceremonies took place across the island of Sakhalin (located in the Okhotsk Sea in a time zone 8 hours ahead of Moscow) on Saturday to commemorate the victims of the disastrous earthquake which ravaged the settlement of Neftegorsk in the north of the island 10 years ago, taking a heavy toll of 2,000 human lives.
A memorial service was held at the Resurrection Cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the administrative center of the Sakhalin Region (consisting of the island of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands). The service was followed by a mourning procession along the central streets of the city.
In addition, a mourning ceremony took place in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, bringing together the survivors of the earthquake which occurred exactly 10 years ago, in the small hours of May 28, 1995. The ceremony ended with 2,000 white balloons going up in the air, each symbolizing a lost human life.
The Neftegorsk earthquake ranks as one of the most devastating in Russia's entire history.
The site of the former Neftegorsk (a decision was made 10 years ago not to reconstruct the settlement) was visited on Saturday by the Sakhalin Governor Ivan Malakhov, senior officials of major companies operating in the region and about 1,000 former residents.
