An aerial view of the devastated Sumatran coastal village of Kuede Teunom after the Boxing Day tsunami

THE fifth anniversary of the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004, which devastated South-East Asia and claimed over 225,000 lives, is being marked in Jersey next month with an evening of reflection.

The charity, Jersey Side by Side, which was set up after 5,000 Islanders stood together on St Ouen’s Beach a month after the earthquake to show their empathy with the victims, is organising the event at St Helier Methodist Centre on Saturday 9 January.

Entitled An Evening of Reflection, Thanksgiving and Promise, the programme will feature tenor Nicky Spence who has just joined the English National Opera.

Also taking part, will be harpist Celine Saout, pianist Chris George, cellist Emmanuelle Dumas, soprano Gitte-Maj Donoghue, and the Musical Original Singers.

Side by Side chairman Mike Wavell told the JEP that he believed in the importance of marking the tsunami and the devastating impact that it had on people in South-East Asia.