State funeral for Reagan

2004-06-06 12:29

Los Angeles - Former US president Ronald Reagan's state funeral will take place in Washington on Friday, and he will be buried later the same day at his presidential library in California, a news report said.

Reagan's office declined to confirm the details of the service and burial, saying they would be announced on Sunday, But CBS2 News quoted a close aide as saying the dates had tentatively been set.

The Los Angeles television station said the 40th US president would lie in repose in the Reagan Presidential Library on Monday and Tuesday to allow mourners to pay their respects before he is taken to Washington.

The library, which closed on Saturday shortly after Reagan's death was announced, will remain open 24 hours on each of the two days to accommodate the anticipated throngs.

The president's body will be taken to a Naval air base at southern California's Point Mugu on Wednesday to be flown to Washington.

There, he will lie in state in the US Capitol rotunda's on Wednesday and Thursday, CBS2 News said.

The report said the expected state funeral would be held in the Washington's National Cathedral on Friday, before the body is flown back to California for a private, hilltop burial to be held at the presidential library in Simi Valley for at sunset.

Reagan's office has confirmed the general sequence of the planned events but not the timing nor the details.

- AFP