Mahasarakham governor Saneh Nonthachote, using used a fire lamp donated by His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn, set light to the pile of flowers on the royal pyre in front of a royal portrait of the late King at 11:30pm. Monks, government officials and members of the public then took turns to put sandalwood flowers earlier offered by mourners earlier into the fire. In the 12 hours from 9 am to 9 pm on Thursday, 226,379 people in the province offered up sandalwood funeral flowers for their beloved King.

Source: The Nation Bangkok October 27, 2017 03:33 UTC