SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 8 Kyodo, Some 300 U.S. citizens floated lanterns Saturday on a stream in the northern California city of Berkeley with prayers for peace to mark the 59th anniversaries of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Participants in the annual event, the third of its kind, put antiwar or peace messages on the lanterns before floating them on small vessels on the stream at a park.

One participant, 45-year-old Jeffrey Akeley, said the simple gesture of floating the lanterns helped those taking part more deeply express prayers for peace.

The date the event was held fell between the Aug. 6 and Aug. 9 anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II.

2004-08-08 19:43:07JST