Victims of Thailand massacre laid to rest amid outpouring of grief

BANGKOK: The remains of the victims killed in a gun and knife rampage at a childcare centre were laid to rest yesterday amid an outpouring of grief as family members and relatives bid their final farewell after a three-day mourning.

Nineteen of the victims, mostly young children, were cremated in a group ceremony at Rat Samakee temple, Uthai Sawan in Nong Bua Lamphu province.

The grief-stricken parents and family members were seen clutching victims' photographs and their favourite toys as they accompanied the caskets, which were being carried one by one to the temporary charcoal-fueled open-air funeral pyres outside the temple.

Many wept and chanted prayers as monks lit the furnace, sending columns of smoke into the sky.

Earlier, family members, relatives as well as villagers gathered at the temple to bid a final farewell to those who died in the massacre that shook the nation last Thursday.

Mourners, mostly clad in black, queued to pay their last respects at the temple, located about 3 kilometres from the scene.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan o-cha and cabinet ministers were also present at the royally sponsored cremations.

On Monday, villagers and volunteers joined hands to build makeshift brick furnaces on the grounds of the temple. Abbot at Rat Samakee temple Phra Kru Adisal Kijjanuwat said the bodies would be cremated on charcoal-fueled open-air funeral pyres to shorten the lengthy cremation process and avoid further distress to parents and relatives.

Meanwhile, the other victims at Si Uthai and Thepmongkulpichai temple were also laid to rest today.

Last Thursday, a sacked policeman killed 36 people - including 24 children - in Uthai Sawan in Nong Bua Lamphu province, about 500 km northeast of Bangkok.

The 34-year-old man, who had previous drug abuse records, killed 23 children aged between two and four while they were were sleeping at the childcare centre after lunch.

He later fled the scene in a vehicle, went home, and killed his wife and son before fatally shooting himself.

-- BERNAMA