Legacy Phuket Gazette
- Phuket News
Phuket Songkran heatwave claims three lives on same day
PHUKET: Doctors at Patong Hospital have confirmed that three foreigners died yesterday after collapsing from heatstroke. Russian tourist Igor Kiselev, 59, was rushed to hospital for medical treatment after he passed out at Karon Beach, Patong Hospital Director Sirichai Silpa-archa confirmed to the Phuket Gazette this morning. “He died en route to the hospital. Medical staff tried for one hour…
- Phuket News
Road death tally holds steady on fifth day of danger
PHUKET: Phuket’s road death toll remains at one after “five days of danger”, but four injuries were added to the casualty tally after yesterday. Between midnight on April 14 and midnight on April 15, four road accidents were reported, according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket office (DDPM-Phuket). Three involved motorcyclists, two of whom had blood alcohol…
- Phuket News
Dust to Dust: Phuket’s struggle to clear the air
Special Report Each month thousands of people seek treatment at Phuket hospitals for breathing difficulties, eye and nose problems and even nausea – all brought on by dust and other forms of air pollution. The Phuket Gazette‘s Irfarn Jamdukor investigates. PHUKET: The Phuket health chief has revealed the disturbing news that in February alone more than 2,500 people in Phuket…
- Phuket News
Get ready to shred some waves in Kao Lak
PHUKET: The high season is nearly over, traffic is fading to near tolerable levels and the lines of beach chairs are slowly receding. However, for those who brave monsoon weather and killer rip tides to test their skills on the west coast surf breaks, the high season is just beginning. Surfing in Phuket is definitely a seasonal undertaking, with surfable…
- World News
Phuket Gazette World News: Hundreds rescued as cruise liner sinks off South Korea
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Cruise liner sinks off South Korea Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: One person has been found dead in a South Korean ferry that is sinking off the southwest coast, a coast guard official said on Wednesday. There was a loud impact and noise before the ferry…
- World News
Phuket Gazette World News: Jordanian ambassador seized in Libya
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Jordanian ambassador seized in Libya, kidnappers demand prisoner release Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Jordan’s ambassador to Libya was kidnapped on Tuesday by gunmen who demanded an Islamist militant be released from a Jordanian jail in exchange for the diplomat’s freedom. The masked gunmen shot and…
- Thai Life
Central Festival holds Songkran fair
PHUKET: Central Festival Phuket has transformed the ground floor of the mall into a traditional temple fair for the Thai New Year holidays. At the main entrance shoppers can have a splashing good time enjoying traditional fun and games including greasy pole boxing, dunking damsels and building s sand Chedi at the Table Spoon Cafe. Songkran shoppers at Central Festival…
- Phuket News
3 injured as water truck flips in Phuket
PHUKET: A water truck flipped and crushed a motorbike, injuring three people when its brakes allegedly failed while descending a small hill in Kata. Police and rescue workers rushed to the scene on Patak Road at about 1:50pm. “The water truck was heading to Karon, and its brakes failed on the small slope there. When it flipped, it crushed a…
- Phuket News
Phuket Songkran road toll stands at 1 dead, 17 injured
PHUKET: After four days of the Songkran Seven Days of Danger national road safety campaign, Phuket’s death and injury toll stands at one dead and 17 people injured in 17 accidents. Five accidents which resulted in five people being admitted to hospital for treatment of injuries occurred in the 24 hours ending at midnight last night, the Department of Disaster…
- Thai Life
Phuket Bike Week rolls into town
PHUKET: On April 11, Patong Beach welcomed thousands of motorcyclists and enthusiasts to Phuket Bike Week. With two decades of successful Bike Week’s under their belts, Phuket’s party-central has pulled it off again with a full schedule of activities amid a sea of bikes, babes and brews. Hawker stalls lined the boardwalk north of the stage, offering everything from alligator…
- World News
Phuket Gazette World News: Undersea drone hunt for Malaysian plane foiled by depth
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Undersea drone hunt for Malaysian plane foiled by depth Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A U.S. Navy underwater drone sent to search for a missing Malaysian jetliner on the floor of the Indian Ocean had its first mission cut short after exceeding its 4.5 km (2.8…
- Phuket News
Baby sea turtles wash back to shore after annual turtle release
PHUKET: Two baby sea turtles washed ashore two Phuket beaches on Sunday afternoon shortly after a turtle release took place in Mai Khao. “Villagers in Mai Khao and Karon called the Phuket Marine Biological Center [PMBC] after they found the stranded baby turtles on the beach,” an officer from the Marine Endangered Species Unit of the PMBC told the Phuket…
- Thailand News
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Songkran death toll hits 161; Red shirt Ko Tee cut adrift; Gen Prem urged to resolve crisis
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Drunk driving ramps up Songkran road death toll The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Some 161 people have been killed and 1,640 injured in 1,539 road accidents in the first three days of Songkran – with most accidents the result of drink driving, the Road Safety…
- World News
Phuket Gazette World News: Obama blasts Russia in tense call with Putin over Ukraine
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Obama blasts Russia in tense call with Putin over Ukraine Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: U.S. President Barack Obama told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday that Russia’s actions in Ukraine were not conducive to a diplomatic solution of the crisis in that country, and the…
- Phuket News
Body of missing Phuket three-year-old found in Nai Harn lagoon
PHUKET: The body of missing 3-year-old Kongpob “Nong Gorya” Chuerket was found in the lagoon at Nai Harn Beach yesterday afternoon, police confirmed. Nong Gorya went missing on Thursday from his home in Rawai, and was last seen crossing the road while his parents were busy working at their store in the construction camp where they live (story here). “We…
- Phuket News
Ghost rider becomes first Phuket fatality in Songkran Seven Days of Danger
PHUKET: A woman speeding on a motorbike in the wrong lane has become Phuket’s first recorded fatality during this year’s Songkran Seven Days of Danger national road-safety campaign. Nannika Boonchorn, 27, from Chaiyaphum, died after she collided at high speed with a motorbike with a sidecar at about 4pm yesterday. The accident happened on Baan Thungkha – Kuandindaeng Road, which…
- Phuket News
B320mn wastewater plant project at Bang Tao Beach stalls
PHUKET: As black water continues to spill over Bang Tao Beach in Cherng Talay, local officials report that the 320-million-baht wastewater-treatment project scheduled for completion next year has stalled. “Our big wastewater treatment project is only 30 per cent complete, but construction has now stopped,” Ma-ann Samran, president of the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor), said on Saturday. “The…
- Thailand News
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Songkran spirit soaks nation; Koh Tee harbored in Isarn, say Dems; Road toll hits 102
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thais forget their woes The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Songkran festival appears to have cooled down Thai politics, at least for a short while, given the reduction in political violence, and a break in politicians’ activities during the five-day holiday, which began on Saturday.…
- World News
Phuket Gazette World News: Ukraine readies military against pro-Russian rebels
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ukraine readies full military operation against pro-Russian rebels Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Ukraine’s armed forces plan to launch a “full-scale anti-terrorist operation” against pro-Russian separatists, acting president Oleksander Turchinov said on Sunday, raising the risk of a military confrontation with Moscow. Angered by the death…
- Phuket News
Search begins for missing Phuket toddler
PHUKET: Police have launched a search for a missing three-year-old boy last seen near the family home in a construction camp in Rawai late Thursday afternoon. Kongpob Chuerket, nicknamed “Nong Gorya”, was wearing a blue singlet emblazoned with an Angry Birds motif and light blue shorts when he disappeared, said Lt Kraisorn Boonprasop of the Chalong Police told the Phuket…
- Phuket News
Sponsor can’t prevent Phuket kratom arrest
PHUKET: Amid the bustle of holiday travellers at Phuket Bus Terminal 2 yesterday, officers arrested a man after confirming that the box he retrieved from a bus contained kratom leaves. The arrest of Polawat Jay-yeng, 25, occurred after a tip-off to Suthee Sirianant, Chief Administration Officer of Phuket City District Office. “Mr Polawat picked up a Sponsor drink box from…
- Pattaya News
Speed, seats and safety targeted in Songkran bus blitz
PHUKET: Extra buses, drug and alcohol tests for drivers and GPS to monitor speeds have been ordered to ensure that holiday travelers make it home safely for the Songkran holidays. Ten extra buses were on standby at Phuket’s Bus Terminal 2 yesterday to cope with the 50 per cent increase in travelers as officials rolled out new disciplinary regulations for…
- Phuket News
Phuket maintains zero road fatalities in Seven Days of Danger
PHUKET: As of 9am today, no deaths had been reported in Phuket during the Songkran holiday Seven Days of Danger safety campaign. Two motorcycle accidents were reported yesterday, but neither involved serious injuries. At 6:21pm, Ampan Jansanoi, 35, lost control of her motorbike while riding in Phuket Town. Three hours later, at 9:25pm, Pongsakorn Sangkasee, 21, was involved in an…
- Opinion
Travel a la carte
PHUKET: When I first came to Thailand, I came to travel. I went north and south, south and east. Sadly, since I moved here permanently, I find myself lacking the time to explore this country, and if I manage to secure some time off, I travel abroad. Luckily, there is a way to travel even when short on time and…
- World News
Phuket Gazette World News: African exodus to Europe continues
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Libya’s coastguard detains more than 400 immigrants en route to Europe Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Libya’s coastguard has detained more than 400 immigrants, mostly from the Horn of Africa, in its waters in the past two days as they tried to illegally cross to Europe…
- Phuket News
Phuket rental shops send passport pictures to Bangkok via smartphone application
PHUKET: Nearly one-third of rental shops in Patong have started to send photos of renters’ faces and passports to the Interpol branch in Bangkok via the messaging application Line in an effort to identify stolen passports and protect against passport theft on the island. The push for tighter security follows the news that two passports stolen in Phuket had been…
- World News
Phuket Gazette World News: Pope asks forgiveness for ‘evil’ of child abuse by priests
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Pope asks forgiveness for ‘evil’ of child abuse by priests Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Pope Francis made his first public plea for forgiveness on Friday for the “evil” committed by priests who molested children, using some of his strongest words yet on the Roman Catholic…
- Thailand News
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Yingluck ditches Prem; Suthep welcomed at Health Ministry; 9 killed in Songkran drive
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM misses Prem meeting The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Caretaker Prime Minister and Defence Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was absent yesterday from a gathering to pay their respects to Privy Council President General Prem Tinsulanonda, leaving only commanders of the Armed Forces with him. Supreme Commander…
- Phuket News
Baby found abandoned in Phuket pickup
PHUKET: Police are searching for the mother of a newborn baby boy found abandoned in the bed of a pickup truck in front of a luxury Phuket resort last night. The baby is healthy and is being cared for at Vachira Phuket Hospital, said Wichit Police Deputy Superintendent Jakkawat Boontaweekulsawat. Hotel staffer Anchalee Singsoon, 39, discovered the infant in the…
- Phuket News
Another Phuket beach befouled by wastewater, again
PHUKET: Dirty, smelly water is flowing across a Phuket beach again, not in the south this time, but in Bang Tao in the north, causing health and economic problems for local boat operators. The source of the problem, say the boatmen, is local hotels dumping untreated wastewater into the Bang Tao Canal, which spills it onto the beach and into…
