Mandela lies in state in Pretoria

Mourners sang and waved flags as the casket of late South African President Nelson Mandela was transported in a hearse through the downtown area on its way to lie in state for a second day in Pretoria Thursday (local time), according to reports.

Police motorcycle riders escorted the hearse carrying the body of Mandela, whose coffin was wrapped in a flag.

His body will lie in state in the Union Buildings, Pretoria, the country’s administrative capital, prior to burial in his ancestral hometown of Qunu on Dec. 15, the South African government said.

Mandela, anti-apartheid icon and Nobel Peace Prize winner, passed away at the age of 95 in Johannesburg on Dec. 5, after a long illness.

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com