Over 19m people paid loving tributes

MORE than 19.1 million people across Thailand offered sandalwood flowers in homage to HM the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej on the day of his Royal Cremation on Thursday. 
The offerings were made at 878 official venues across the country. 
Although most members of the public could not attend the Royal Cremation Ceremony at the Sanam Luang ceremonial grounds, they were able to bid farewell to the great monarch at replica venues.
Every one of these venues for offering sandalwood flowers was overcrowded on Thursday, said reports. 
Dressed in black from head to toe, people started forming long queues hours before the 9am opening time. At some replicas, the queues were so long that people were still waiting patiently after the clock struck midnight. 

Bangkok had the highest number of mourners placing sandalwood flowers as final tributes to the late monarch, who is widely regarded as the “Father of the Nation”. Up to 2.9 million mourners placed sandalwood flowers in the capital.
Sandalwood flowers placed by mourners at the official venues were burnt. Authorities in several provinces then released the ashes of the sandalwood flowers yesterday into large bodies of water, often rivers and lakes. 

 It was reported that a total of 419,149 mourners had placed funeral flowers to bid farewell to the late King at the replica of the Royal Crematorium and flower pavilions in 16 districts across Songkhla. The sandalwood flowers were burned at the Royal Crematorium replica in the southern province late on Thursday night. Songkhla governor Dondej Pattanarat floated the ashes in the sea off Koh Noo and Koh Maew yesterday morning.
Similarly, Chanthaburi province’s governor Withurat Srinam led senior officials and local people as they floated ashes in the sea. A total of 134,186 mourners offered funeral flowers for their beloved King in the seaside province.
 In mountainous Chiang Mai, sandalwood-flower ashes were floated in the waters of the Mae Ngad Somboon Chon Dam. A total of 620,156 mourners placed funeral flowers to bid farewell to the late King in the province.

Phitsanulok’s provincial governor Phakkapong Tawipat floated ashes into the Nan River in front of the main Phitsanulok temple yesterday morning. A total of 202,906 people in Phitanulok’s nine districts took part in the rites to offer funeral flowers to the late king.
In Ayutthaya, the country’s former capital, remains of the burnt sandalwood flowers were released into the Chao Phraya River.
In Phayao province, the ashes were kept in a royal urn replica and floated into the Kwan Phayao Lake opposite a replica of the Royal Crematorium. 
In Nakhon Nayok, the ashes were released into the waters behind the Khun Dan Prakarnchon Dam - which was constructed in response to the late King’s initiative to help locals fight drought in dry months and flood threats in the rainy season.