With tens of thousands of people still missing and many still mourning the loss of loved ones, Japan on Friday marked the 11th anniversary of one of the worst nuclear accidents in history.

The Fukushima nuclear disaster occurred on the afternoon of March 11, 2011, after a tsunami crashed into the seaside facility in northern Japan.

The waves led to the meltdown of three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and caused radioactive leaks, forcing as many as 160,000 residents to flee.

The tsunami followed one of the most powerful earthquakes to have ever affected Japan. At least 18,000 people were killed in the tsunami and roughly 40,000 were never found and are presumed dead.

Minute of silence for nuclear disaster victims

Japan held a minute of silence at 2:46 p.m. local time on Friday, the exact time the 9.1 magnitude earthquake struck eleven years ago.

Japanese television showed people praying towards the direction of the ocean, and still others flying kites with messages of hope as they stood atop sea walls that have been built to prevent waves from crashing over into the facility.

Television also showed footage of people conducting an annual search for those still missing in Namie, an evacuated town to the north of the Fukushima power plant.

But there was no state-run national ceremony this year. The Japanese government brought the annual event to a close since more than a decade has passed since the accident. 

Still, bereaved families and tens of thousands of former residents, either those who were ordered to leave or chose to leave because of radiation levels, gathered to remember the date.

Japanese public broadcaster NHK also interviewed people who consciously chose to avoid marking the day because their losses remained too personal and far too great.

Though extensive decontamination has been carried out at the plant, much fewer people now inhabit towns in Japan's Fukushima prefecture.

rm/sms (AP, AFP)