Crowds for Chavez coffin procession

A flag-draped coffin carrying the body of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez floated over a sea of supporters in Caracas today on its way to a military academy where it will lie in state.

Away from the procession route, jittery Venezuelans facing an uncertain future without their larger-than-life leader flocked to supermarkets and petrol stations to stock up on supplies, preparing for the worst a day after Mr Chavez succumbed to cancer.