Video Report: Field of rubbish revealed off Phuket beach

PHUKET: The Karon Municipality is preparing a team of divers to undertake a cleanup operation after a Facebook video revealed an enormous field of rubbish in the waters near Karon Stadium.

The video, which quickly went viral, showed heaps of trash, such as plastic bottles, foam boxes and shoes floating in the water.

“I have seen the video. This is a deep area between Kata Bay and Karon Bay where rubbish is often washed in by the current every November and December,” explained Karon Deputy Mayor Ittiporn Sungkaew. “The rubbish isn’t from Karon or Kata, it’s being washed in from the greater Andaman Sea area. Its from tourist boats, fishing boats and many other places.”

In honor of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s birthday on December 5, divers will take the plunge and sweep away the underwater rubbish field on December 3.

“In order to express our loyalty and gratitude to HM The King, we will engage in a number of activities. These include clearing up the coastline, cleaning underwater and releasing marine animals,” said Mr Ittiporn. “We are trying to work with those in the tourism and fishing industries to prevent them from throwing rubbish into the sea. However, this is not a problem easily solved. For the time being we have a large beach-cleaning task force that cleans up tourist areas every week.”

— Kritsada Mueanhawong