Sihanouk's body transported through Phnom Penh streets.
ABC TV
Watch the video here.
An Air China plane carrying the body of Cambodia's
former king Norodom Sihanouk has arrived at the airport in the capital
Phnom Penh.
Mr Sihanouk died of a heart attack at the age of 89 in Beijing on Monday.
Tens of thousands of mourners had lined the streets of Phnom Penh to pay their last respects to the revered former king.
Mr. Sihanouk's body was accompanied by his widow Queen Monique, son King Norodom Sihamoni and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Robed monks chanted prayers as the coffin was brought off the plane and decorated with white flowers.
Large
portraits of a smiling Sihanouk were dotted along the main boulevards
in the capital, filled up with throngs of people, young and old, wearing
white shirts and holding small Cambodian flags as they waited under a
sweltering sun.
"There are more than 100,000 people lining the
streets. More are coming," government spokesman Khieu Kanharith told
reporters at the airport, where people climbed on walls and car roofs to
get a better view.
A convoy was set to take the coffin straight
to the royal palace, where Sihanouk will lie in state for three months
before an elaborate funeral for the ex-king, who remained popular after
abdicating in favour of his son in 2004 citing old age and ill health.
The former king's body will then be cremated according to Buddhist ritual.
Nation in mourning
Moniroith Vann, a former Radio Australia employee, told Connect Asia that the streets of Phnom Penh had gone quiet since Mr Sihanouk's death.
"I am very devastated. I think it is a big loss for Cambodia and people here are very upset," Mr Vann said.
On Tuesday, over 100 Buddhist nuns and monks gathered outside to pray, and they have been joined by many others.
"When
we heard the news, my colleagues and I were sad for the loss of our
hero, who has built many things for the country and for Cambodian people
to live in peace," one man said.
"I lost the king, it's like I lost a father," another added.
Mr Sihanouk was the last surviving Southeast Asian leader who steered his nation through post-war independence.
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