Final rush to see Nelson Mandela lying in state

Crowds of frustrated mourners in the South African capital Pretoria scuffled with police after they were unable to see former President Nelson Mandela lying in state.

An estimated 100,000 people queued up on Friday, December 13 – the third and final day that the casket was on view – but it has been reported that only around half of them were able to see Mandela.

When officials tried to send the crowds away in the late afternoon – so that the casket could be removed as planned – groups of people surged forward through lines of police.

Many were angry at being prevented from having a chance to say a personal goodbye to their hero.

One man said: “We have been waiting here for a long time. This is absolute nonsense, man. I have been here since 5.00 o’clock in the morning.

“It’s not fair, it’s really not fair to us,” another frustrated mourner told reporters.

Mandela’s coffin is being transported to his ancestral village of Qunu on South Africa’s eastern cape – ahead of his funeral on Sunday, December 15.