Prayers Held As Hiroshima Marks 70 Years Since Atomic Bomb

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Bells tolled and thousands bowed their heads in prayer in Hiroshima at ceremonies in the Japanese city marking the 70th anniversary of the world’s first atomic bombing. On Thursday at 8:15am (23:15 GMT, Wednesday), the exact time when the bomb, dropped by the US B-29 aircraft, the Enola Gay, exploded on August 6, 1945, the crowd stood for a moment of silence. Aljazeera has more:

In the heavy summer heat, cicadas shrilled, the Peace Bell rang and hundreds of doves were released into the sky.  Many of those gathered for the ceremony renewed their calls for peace, while survivors recalled agonising memories that continue to haunt them 70 years on.

Eighty-nine-year-old Keigo Miyagawa spoke to Al Jazeera of the terror and the trauma his 19-year-old self went through. “It felt like lightning. I saw this strong flash, and it was followed by this sound, and it swept me off my feet. I lost consciousness,” he recalled. “When I woke up … I was injured and bleeding.”

For the last five decades, Miyagawa has been committing images imprisoned in his mind to canvas. Read his story here.