People have gathered in the eastern Japanese prefecture of Gunma to remember the victims of the country's deadliest plane crash. The accident occurred 39 years ago in the prefecture.

A Japan Airlines jumbo jet crashed into a mountain ridge in Ueno Village on August 12, 1985. The accident left 520 passengers and crew members dead.

On Sunday, relatives of the victims and others floated memorial lanterns down a river near the crash site.
The mourners wrote messages to the victims on the lanterns and prayed for transportation safety.

Miyajima Kuniko lost her second son, Ken. The boy was 9 years old at the time of the accident. Miyajima serves as the secretary general of a group of bereaved families.

The 77-year-old says members of the group remember their loved ones every year. She says she wants to play a role in passing information about the accident to the next generation.

On Monday, the relatives and others will head to the crash site on Osutaka Ridge. They will attend a memorial service, which will be held in the evening.