Worshippers send candle-lit baskets down a flume for Loy Krathong festival in Thailand


Worshippers float candle lanterns down a specially made flume to mark the Loy Krathong festival in Thailand - after the swollen river prevented them from getting near the shore.

The annual festival honouring the Buddhist goddess of water sees millions of people float Krathong baskets on rivers, lakes and into the sea to bring good luck for the year ahead.

But outside a temple in Samut Songkhram province, central Thailand, the Mae Klong river was particularly fast-flowing following heavy rain, which made it too dangerous for locals to walk down the river bank.

Buddhist monks constructed a 30-metre-long flume held up along the way with metal scaffolding supports, which locals were able to place the candle-lit baskets.

They could then make a wish as they watched them zoom along the channel and into the river below during the festivities on November 22.