Japan Marks the 70th Anniversary of the Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki August 09,1945 - August 09,2015

A ceremony is underway on Sunday morning in Nagasaki to mark the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the southern Japanese city.

Survivors, guests from 75 countries and others are gathered under a tall white canopy to shade them from the sun at the annual commemoration at Nagasaki Peace Park.

As a bell tolled, they observed a minute of silence at 11-02 a.m., the time when the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb, killing more than 70,000 people and prompting Japan’s World War II surrender. The first atomic bomb in Hiroshima three days earlier killed 140,000.

Thousands observed a vigil at the Nagasaki Peace Park to remember those who died when US places dropped an atom bomb on the city 70 years ago

Wall clock that stopped working at 11.02am, when the explosion occurred 70 years ago, are displayed at the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum

An image of the atomic blast's mushroom cloud was projected onto Nagasaki's Urakami Cathedral which was destroyed in the attack on August 9, 1945

Girls release dove-shaped balloons during an event commemorating the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe holds a wreath during a ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the Nagasaki atomic bombing in Nagasaki, southern Japan Sunday, Aug. 9, 2015.

Women pray for the victims of the 1945 Bombing in front of the Peace Statue at Nagasaki's Peace Park

Timeline of Atomic Bombings

• September 1, 1939: World War II begins
• December 7, 1941: Japan bombs Pearl Harbor, US enters WWII
• August 13, 1942: The Manhattan Project officially starts
• July 16, 1945: The Trinity Test (first nuclear bomb test) is done
• August 6, 1945: Bombing of Hiroshima
• August 9, 1945: Bombing of Nagasaki
• August 12, 1945: United States contacts Japan to accept surrender
• August 15, 1945: Japan announces surrender on radio
• September 2, 1945: World War II officially ends