Clean-up at Chiang Mai airport after Loy Krathong
Chiang Mai International Airport reported on Sunday that a total of 107 flying lanterns had fallen on to the runway during the Loy Krathong festival.
Revellers in Chiang Mai launched off the flying lanterns as part of their long-held Yipeng tradition. Because of safety concerns, the authorities only allowed lanterns to be launched between 7pm and 1am.
Airport officials, who collected flying lanterns around the clock during the festival, reported that they had collected 107 flying lanterns from November 3-5.
Ninety-five of those lanterns had diameters between 50cm and 70cm, while seven had diameters under 50cm and five had diameters over 70cm.
Meanwhile, authorities at the Mae Ping sluice gate in Chiang Mai’s Muang district reported that a large number of floating flower-filled krathong were stuck in the gate.
Volunteers, soldiers and other officials, including those from the Irrigation Office and Chiang Mai Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office, planned to do a final clearing round of krathong floats and garbage along the Ping River on Tuesday.
Many of the floats were made of natural materials and the Nakhon Chiang Mai Municipality plans to produce fertiliser from them.