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Dead to be buried in Mai Khao
PHUKET: Phuket is preparing a 10-rai plot of land at the Sea Gypsy cemetery in Tambon Mai Khao to bury victims of Sunday’s tsunami waves. Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura said after a meeting with local officials at Phuket Provincial Hall today that the dead will be kept until then in four 40-foot cold-storage containers.Officials will begin moving the bodies to…
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1,536 died in tidal waves
PHUKET: Figures released this morning by the emergency center at Phuket Provincial Hall list 1,536 people dead, 8,953 injured and 4,073 missing in the six southern provinces affected by Sunday’s tsunami waves.Among the dead are 187 foreigners, 1,175 Thais and 174 people whose nationalities remain unknown.The breakdown of the figures is as follows:Phuket: 233 dead; 1,268 injured; 1,580 reported missing.(Deaths:…
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Assistance for Hong Kongers in Phuket
PHUKET: Hong Kong residents of Phuket or the surrounding areas who require help following the tsunami tragedy may call the Hong Kong Immigration Department’s 24-hour hotline at + (852) 2829 3010.Immigration Department Officers are in Phuket assisting, and can be reached on + (852) 6409 1846 or at their temporary office in Room 270, Boat Lagoon Resort, Tel: 66 (0)…
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Translators needed
PHUKET: Both the Provincial Government and the island’s Tourist Police have appealed for volunteers to help with translation between Thai and English or other languages.Volunteers should go to the Provincial Hall on Narisorn Rd, Phuket City, or to the Tourist Police headquarters on the east side of the bypass road (on the right heading toward the airport), in the row…
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Free flight for Australians, New Zealanders
PHUKET: Australian airline Qantas will provide free seats for stranded nationals of Australia and New Zealand this evening, taking off at 6:45 pm.Those wishing to be on the flight should go direct to the airport and contact the airline’s representatives. For further information, contact Australian embassy personnel in Phuket at 076-370672.
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Donations urgently needed
PHUKET: As the island continues its recovery from the tsunami that hit the island on Sunday morning, many hospitals and other organizations are calling for donations to assist victims. Hospitals: clothes, shoes, counseling: Wachira Phuket Hospital and other hospitals say there is an urgent need for shoes, shorts and T-shirts, especially in sizes large enough for foreigners. Shoes are the…
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Cabinet approves B2.8bn in emergency aid
PHUKET: The Cabinet yesterday approved a 2.8-billion-baht emergency relief budget to help relieve the suffering of those affected by December 26 tsunami.Interior Minister Bhokin Bhalakula said that during a video-conference Cabinet meeting in Phuket yesterday morning, PM Thaksin ordered that the search for bodies in the areas of the Phi Phi Islands and Khao Lak be intensified.Bodies are now piling…
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Patong clean-up underway
PATONG: Patong Municipality yesterday approved a 20-million-baht budget to begin clean-up operations following the devastation wrought by tsunami waves on Sunday.Mayor Pian Keesin today told the Gazette that municipal officials were still searching for bodies, but that 100% of those who suffered injury had already been sent to hospitals.He said workers and vehicles had been hired to clear debris along…
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Commercial airlines offer free evacuation flights
PHUKET: At least five Thai commercial airlines are offering free flights to Bangkok to assist the government effort in evacuating the dead and wounded from the island.Vasing Kittikul, Executive Vice-President of the Thai Airways (THAI) Commercial Department, said that THAI had already evacuated some 1,100 people to Bangkok today.Those injured or needing to arrange transport for the deceased should call 076-327274 or…
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Three-day national mourning period announced
THAILAND (The Nation): Government spokesperson Jakrapob Penkhae has declared a three-day mourning period from today until Thursday, for the victims of the tidal waves that have killed an estimated 2,000 people in southern coastal regions.He added that religious ceremonies will be held throughout the country for the victims on Thursday, starting at 7 pm.Besides flying the Thai flag at half-staff,…
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Toddler reunited with family; mother still missing
PHUKET: Swedish toddler Hannes Bergstrom, just 20 months old, early this afternoon was reunited with his uncle, Kim Kärkkainen, and grandmother Raija Kärkkainen.Hannes was separated from his parents when he was rescued at Bang Niang Beach, Khao Lak, where the family were staying, and brought to Phuket International Hospital.Family members in Finland saw the photograph of young Hannes on the…
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Fishermen to receive compensation
PHUKET CITY: Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Newin Chidchob arrived on Phuket yesterday afternoon to offer assistance to local fishermen who lost their boats in Sunday’s tsunamiK. Newin said he had received reports of damage to 300 large fishing boats and 2,400 longtail boats. Some 20,000 people employed in coastal fishing in the six affected provinces, such as fish farmers…
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Tourism Council President calls for speedy assistance
PHUKET: Tourism Council of Thailand President Vichit Na Ranong has called for the government to expedite assistance to help in the clean-up effort in the wake of the December 26 tsunami.“It’s too early to estimate the total cost of the damage, but we must begin the clean-up as soon as possible. We can’t afford to wait for three months. The…
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Laguna denies being “totally destroyed’
PHUKET: Laguna Phuket has issued a press statement denying reports broadcast globally on Cable News Network (CNN) that the resort was “totally destroyed” in the Boxing Day tsunami.Laguna Phuket events and Press Relations Manager Michelle Payette told the Gazette, “Not only are we not gone, but we are operational. And we think we will be fully operational within four days.“Anything…
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Final death toll could exceed 2,000
BANGKOK: More than 700 foreign tourists are believed to have died when tidal waves smashed into southern Thailand on Sunday, the deputy interior minister said this morning.“The latest figure we have is more than 990 confirmed deaths. Of these, some 200 were Thais and the rest were foreigners,” Sutham Sangprathum told reporters before a cabinet meeting on the disaster.“But from…
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THAI adds more special flights, bigger planes out of Phuket
PHUKET: Thai Airways has announced a change to larger aircraft and two special flights from Phuket to Bangkok.Mr Kanok Abhiradee, THAI’s President, said that the airline has taken the step to facilitate transportation of the injured and others affected by the natural disaster in the South of Thailand. The special arrangements take effect from today, 27 December, onwards.The special, additional…
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Baby boy identifed
PHUKET: A young boy rescued by a couple and taken to Phuket International Hospital has been identified as a 20-month old Swedish boy.Family members in Finland saw the photograph of young Hannes Bergstrom on the Phuket Gazette website and contacted the boy’s uncle, Tim Karkkinen, in Pattaya within an hour of the story going online.Mr Karkkinen told the Gazette that…
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Accommodations prepared in Bangkok for foreign tourists
BANGKOK: The Tourism Ministry has prepared over 1,000 rooms in Bangkok to accommodate foreign tourists whose hotels in Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi were destroyed by yesterday’s tidal waves.All domestic airlines will arrange special flights to send foreign tourists from the three provinces to Bangkok. All expenses will be shouldered by the ministry.
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King’s grandson killed by tidal waves
KHAO LAK: A grandson of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej was among those killed when tidal waves smashed into southern Thailand, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced today.He said the body of Bhumi Jensen, 21, was found at the resort of Khao Lak, in Phang-nga province, about one hundred metres away from where he was last seen before the waves hit…
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Plea to find missing parents
PHUKET CITY: As the hospitals on the island continue to receive people injured by yesterday’s tidal wave, the number of patients who have been separated from family or friends grows.At Phuket International Hospital, a toddler boy was brought in by ambulance from Tai Muang, in Phang Nga, about 9 pm last night.The boy had been rescued by a couple, but…
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Consular support contact numbers released
PHUKET CITY: Throughout this morning many foreign embassies have been busy organizing people at Provincial Hall to be contacted for information about their nationals who may have been caught in yesterday’s deadly tidal wave..The information presented to the Gazette about the countries represented, their representatives and their telephone numbers is as follows:Australia: 076-370672. Belgium: Ronny Elau 01-8339986.Britain: Mel James 01-9157805.Canada: Diego…
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Consular support for foreigners
PHUKET: The official tally for dead and missing in and around Phuket as a result of yesterday’s tsunami now stands at 122 and 355 respectively, according to the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services System (Narenthorn Center) of the Ministry of Public Health. A further 1,027 people are reported as injured, although one local private hospital confirmed that it alone had…
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Latest toll: 66 dead, 691 injured
PHUKET: Kawee Sukunthamath, Chief of the Phuket Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM), early this evening said that 66 people were confirmed dead by the tidal wave which ravaged Phuket’s coastline this morning. Of the dead, 20 were foreigners. Another 691 people were reported injured, and 22 more were missing.Phuket International Airport resumed normal inbound and outbound flight services…
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Tidal wave toll: 35 dead, 355 injured
PHUKET: The tidal wave that hit Phuket this morning has claimed the lives of 35 people and injured some 355, Wisut Romin, Deputy Secretary of the Phuket Provincial Administration Office, has announced.Speaking at the emergency rescue headquarters set up at the Phuket Provincial Office, K. Wisut said that an earlier report had recorded 11 dead at Kata Beach, and nine more at Nai Yang…
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Tidal wave toll rises
PHUKET: An unconfirmed 22 people have died and more than 1,000 have sought refuge at the Phuket Provincial Office in Phuket City after Phuket’s coast was swamped by a tidal wave caused by an earthquake off Sumatra this morning.Waters off Phuket surged onto land, washing away homes on the east coast and causing damage at resorts all along the west coast.The Gazette…
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Phuket coast swamped after Sumatra earthquake
PHUKET: Emergency response units have been scrambled after waters off Phuket surged onto land this morning, washing away homes on the east coast and causing damage at resorts all along the west coast.The sea rose after tremors from an earthquake just before 7 am off Sumatra, Indonesia, that measured 8.1 on the Richter scale.At 11 am, Phuket International Hospital confirmed…
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Aids awareness campaign launched
PATONG: Over 30 people attended the launch of the “Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM) Project”, an Aids awareness campaign aimed at increasing condom use among male sex workers in Patong.The seminar, held at Patong Hospital yesterday morning, was organized jointly by gay advocacy group the Rainbow Sky Organization of Thailand and Thai Red Cross Aids Research Center.The main…
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Gas stations to stay open 24 hours
PHUKET: Petrol stations will be allowed to trade around the clock over the Christmas and New Year holiday period, Thongrat Vannuch, the Chief of Phuket Provincial Energy Business Office, told the Gazette today.K. Thongrat said the Energy Ministry announced on December 20 that petrol stations would be allowed to remain open 24 hours from tomorrow (December 25) through to January…
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Finn drowns at Karon
KARON: A Finnish national drowned off Karon Beach yesterday afternoon.Raikka Ohhi Veikko, 69, was pulled from the water by officers of the Phuket Marine Police and the Phuket Tourist Rescue Center, but he was pronounced dead on arrival at Patong Hospital.An officer working at the Phuket Tourist Rescue Center, who declined to give his name, said it was believed that…
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Panwa aquarium “to re-open in time for Songkran’
CAPE PANWA: Following Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura on Monday announcing that a private aquarium may be built at Surin Beach, Phuket Marine Biology Center (PMBC) director Wannakiat Thubthimsang today told the Gazette that the PMBC aquarium will be open in time for the Songkran holiday period in April 2005.The PMBC aquarium closed more than two years ago for renovations. The work…
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