Families of Norwegian tsunami victims on memorial journey to Thailand from 3 to 9 October

Today 165 Norwegians are travelling to Thailand to take part in a programme of commemoration for those they lost in the tsunami. Health Minister Ansgar Gabrielsen will be representing the government at the official memorial ceremony.

This is the second and last memorial journey arranged by the Norwegian authorities and is an offer to those who were unable to travel in May. The programme will provide opportunities for the families to remember and mourn, individually and together. The programme is the same as in May and includes visits to the areas where Norwegians died. The official memorial ceremony will be held in Phuket on Friday 7 October.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has arranged the journey in co-operation with the national support group for the victims’ families, survivors and others affected by the tsunami disaster of 2004; the office set up for the families in Phuket; the health authorities; the police and the Norwegian Seamen’s Church. The Government obtained the support of the Storting to arrange memorial journeys to Thailand for those affected by the disaster.