EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS: Thousands of People Feel Desperate over Not Seeing Mandela, as Lying in State Ended
Thousands
of people in South Africa pushed through police lines in a last-ditch
bid to see Nelson Mandela lying in state in the capital Pretoria.
They
were hoping to be the last of some 50,000 people to pass through the
Union Buildings on December 13, 2013, Friday, where the former
president's body has lain.
Shortly
before the lying in state came to an end, at 17:45 local time (15:45
GMT), hundreds of people towards the front of the queue pushed through
in the hope to be one of the last through the door.
Many people waited in the line for 11 hours for the chance to see Nelson Mandela's body. See more hotos below:
Some
were angry that more time had not been allowed for this ceremonial;
others said even if they could not reach his coffin for a personal
farewell it was enough simply to be there.
Officials say at least 100,000 people have visited the venue over the past three days to pay their respects.
The
long queues of people hoping to view the body (in the picture above)
were reminiscent of scenes in 1994 when voters queued in Soweto for the
first multiracial elections (in the picture below)...
Mr. Mandela's coffin was taken from the building shortly after doors closed.
The coffin was escorted by a guard of honour to a waiting hearse as military helicopters circled over the city.
According
to BBC, the body will remain in Pretoria overnight, and there will be a
ceremony at a local air force base in the morning of December 14, 2013,
Saturday, to allow members of the governing African National Congress
(ANC) to say a last farewell.
The
coffin will then be flown to the Eastern Cape ahead of the burial at
Mr. Mandela's ancestral home in Qunu on Sunday. Mandela funeral map is
given below.
