Thailand begins royal cremation for late King Bhumibol Adulyadej

Thai : Hundreds of thousands of Thais have turned out to witness the procession Mourners in Thailand are marking the main part of the five-day funeral ceremony for the country’s late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
The revered king died in October 2016 aged 88.
A series of Buddhist rites began in the royal palace before the royal urn was moved onto a chariot to begin a large procession to the cremation site.
The late king will be cremated later on Thursday, in a royal pyre to be lit by his son, King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
The funeral officially started on Wednesday with a merit-making ceremony, a Buddhist rite, in the Grand Palace.
Images from the elaborate ceremony
Many buildings in Bangkok’s old quarter are draped in yellow marigolds, and huge crowds are lining the streets for the funeral procession.
The royal chariotImage copyrightAFP
The chariot carrying the urn in the second part of the funeral procession has been used since the late 18th Century. Weighing just under 14 tonne, it is being pulled by more than 200 soldiers.
The elaborate ceremony is estimated to have drawn as many as 250,000 people from across Thailand.
Many of the mourners arrived at the capital days ago, and waited in the streets overnight for the procession, clutching portraits of the late king.