Tsunami image voted press photo of the year

A photograph of an Indian woman mourning a relative killed in the Boxing Day tsunami won the 2004 World Press Photo awards yesterday.

The competition attracted entries from 4,266 photographers from 123 countries. Judges spent 10 days deliberating before awarding Arko Datta, an Indian, the top prize of $10,000 (£5,300).

"In a good picture you can hear the roar of nature and the silence of grief," said the jury chairman, Diego Goldberg. "He is not showing hundreds of bodies or the destruction. He chose a very simple composition, very strong... It shows you can express huge events by showing the detail." Mr Datta is a Reuters photographer.