Phuket News
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Phuket FC constructing a new complex on Chao Fa West road
PHUKET: THE island’s football club, Phuket FC, are in the process of constructing a new state-of-the-art training facility just south of Phuket Town, en route to Chalong. This complex will afford players badly needed upgrades to equipment and facilities and will include a natural grass football pitch, as well as an artificial grass pitch, swimming pool, fitness center and physical…
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Burmese man crushed under Phuket juggernaut
PHUKET: A 43-year-old Burmese man dodging between another motorbike and a 22-wheeled truck and trailer died instantly yesterday afternoon when he lost control of the motorbike and was crushed under the rear wheels of the juggernaut. Thalang Police were notified of the accident, near the Baan Nai Klum u-turn, about 500 meters south of Tesco Lotus Thalang (map here), at…
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Italians take path less travelled
PHUKET: An Italian couple who lost their way while sight-seeing at the Khao Phra Thaew wildlife sanctuary in Thalang were recovered safely on March 27. Meiko Parisani and Valentina Bolognini entered the park at about 3:30pm, hoping to see the Ton Sai Waterfall, but soon lost their way. “We were very scared. We saw a monkey with big teeth, it…
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Phuket Gazette Sports: Messi nets record, United and Bayern march on
Sio shines as Sochaux sink Lyon Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Lionel Messi scored in a 19th successive league match as Barcelona maintained a 13-point lead in La Liga despite being held to a draw by Celta Vigo, while a deflected goal kept Manchester United 15 points clear in England. Claudio Pizarro scored four times as Bayern Munich hammered Hamburg SV…
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Phuket Immigration seeks help in coping with overload of Rohingya arrivals
PHUKET: The arrival of more than 100 Rohingya men, women and children last weekend has left Phuket Immigration overflowing, with no respite on the horizon. The huge influx of refugees fleeing strife-torn Myanmar has forced Phuket Immigration to seek help elsewhere, said Capt Angkarn Yasanop. Of the 102 Rohingya taken into custody last weekend when the refugees sought shelter on…
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One dead, two thrown from car as workmen head to Phuket Airport
PHUKET: One man is dead and two are lucky to be alive after the pickup they were travelling in skidded on oil and struck a power pole on Phuket’s Thepkrasattri Road, at the north end of the island, this morning. The three men, all steel workers from Takuapa in Phang Nga, were on their way to work on the expansion…
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Phuket helps turtles break for the waves
PHUKET: The Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation and JW Marriott Phuket Resort and Spa hosted the 4th Mai Khao Turtle Release yesterday afternoon. The important annual event is organized to raise funds for, and awareness of, the plight of Phuket’s critically endangered sea turtles. Supported by the Phuket Marine Biological Center and the Royal Thai Navy, the event released rehabilitated…
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Phuket Police on lookout for three drivers in two fatal hit-and-runs
PHUKET: Chalong Police are looking for the drivers of three vehicles involved in two separate hit-and-runs on Thursday night. Just after midnight yesterday morning, police received a report that a man had died in a road accident near the entrance to Soi Pratana on Chao Fa West Road in Chalong (map here). Chalong Police investigator Wuttiwat Liangboonjinda identified the victim…
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Truck water fights banned for Thai New Year
PHUKET: Deputy Interior Minister Chat Kuldilok yesterday announced that people engaging in running water battles from the backs of trucks and pickups during the upcoming Thai New Year Songkran festival will be subject to criminal charges. The news follows a meeting of the national Road Safety Center on Thursday to draw up road-safety measures to be enforced during Songkran, Lt…
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Phuket Sports: Dive into TSLC
PHUKET: Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TSLC) welcomes some of Asia’s most prolific rising sport stars from Malaysia, the Philippines, Hong Kong and mainland China to compete alongside local swimmers in the 2013 Thanyapura Long Course Swim Championships this weekend. The competition takes place at Thanyapura’s world-class Olympic-standard Aquatics Center. “We are excited to be hosting yet another of Asia’s…
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Phuket job fair offering more than 6,000 jobs
PHUKET: More than 6,000 jobs are up for grabs at the two-day “e-jobs@Phuket 2013” employment fair, which started today at Phuket Rajabhat University (map here). “The fair offers prospective employers and employees the opportunity to meet directly and increase their chances of finding a ‘best match’ for the work and the people they are seeking,” Phuket Provincial Employment Office chief…
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Murder fugitive’s 10-year run ends with drug-fuelled road frenzy
PHUKET: A murder fugitive on the run for a decade was arrested yesterday in Phang Nga, just north of Phuket, after an armed drug binge ended with police shooting out his tyres.Phonchai “Bao” Phetrit, from Trang, wanted by Ladprao Police in Bangkok on a murder warrant issued in 2003, was finally placed under arrest after he rammed through three checkpoints,…
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Phuket sea gypsies fight forced relocation
SPECIAL REPORT PHUKET: Fearing they will have nowhere to go if court-ordered evictions are carried out, villagers at the southern Phuket sea gypsy community in Rawai have steadfastly resolved to stay put.“Our people have been living here for more than 200 years. Our homes once lined the length of the beach, but now we have only 19 rai to live…
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“Italian Stallions” gallop to victory in Laguna Phuket Golf Club’s “Beat the Pros” charity challenge opener
PHUKET: Laguna Phuket Golf Club’s “Beat the Pros” charity challenge series began with a victory that upset the form book, with the club’s pro pairing of Paul Wilson and Andy Combe defeated by “Italian Stallions” amateurs, Giovanni Palazzoli and Marco Fragola. The charity challenge, sponsored by Titleist, sees Assistant Director of Golf Paul and PGA teaching professional Andy challenge amateur…
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Phuket drought set to continue, driest early quarter in 10 years
PHUKET: The forecast for isolated, scattered showers across Phuket in the coming days will offer little reprieve to the island’s ongoing dry spell, which is Phuket’s driest January-to-March period in a decade, experts have warned. “The average rainfall during January to March over the past 10 years is 277.71mm, but this year we received only 63.3mm,” said Phuket Meteorological Officer…
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Phuket marine chief floats Airport-Patong sea taxi idea
PHUKET: To offer tourists another option in getting from Phuket Airport to Patong Beach, the chief of the Phuket Marine Office yesterday proposed launching a “sea taxi” to ferry passengers down the island’s west coast. The project is called “From the boat to the plane”, Chief Phuriphat Teerakulpisut told a meeting at the Phuket Treasury Office yesterday. “Many tourists visit…
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Phuket to stage annual turtle release
PHUKET: The Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation and JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa will stage the 4th Mai Khao Turtle Release at Mai Khao Beach tomorrow from 3 to 6 pm. The important annual event is organized to raise funds for and awareness of the plight of Phuket’s critically endangered sea turtles. Supported by the Phuket Marine Biological Center…
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Phuket man crushed by truck and coconut tree
PHUKET: A concrete well ring vendor died in Thalang yesterday afternoon after his crane truck rolled down a slope and one of the outriggers – arms used to stabilize the truck – crushed him against a coconut tree. Thalang Police were notified that a man had died at a coconut plantation behind Baan Chumpoh Mosque in Pa Khlok at about…
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Phuket security guard denies B500k ATM theft
PHUKET: A guard working for a Phuket security firm was arrested today for allegedly topping up his own pockets with 500,000 baht instead of topping up an ATM at a gas station near Wat Chalong. The arrest follows Progress Gunpai Co Ltd filing a police complaint against one of their own security guards, Samphan In-Auksorn, 33, from Nakhon Sri Thammarat,…
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Phuket crackdown on Russians heads north
PHUKET: Local officials will start conducting raids across Phuket’s Thalang District, which covers the northern third of the island, targeting any businesses involving foreigners. The raids will first target businesses involving Russians, a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall was told yesterday. As have other recent immigration crackdowns, the Thalang operation will specifically target foreigners either working illegally in Thailand or…
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Governor orders justice in Phuket arson attack over land dispute
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut has ordered the Chalong Police to take swift action in bringing to justice the three men seen setting homes ablaze in Chalong early yesterday morning. With the aid of windy conditions, it took just 30 minutes for the fire to destroy three wooden homes in Soi Palai (map here). Sombat Suwit told the Phuket Gazette…
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Phuket gunfight survivors yet to deliver police statements
PHUKET: One of the two survivors of the gunfight on March 20, which left two dead and a Tourist Police officer charged with murder, has given police his version of the shooting but has not identified the shooter. Natthapong Kaewkuanchum, 25, was shot three times in the chest in the early morning of March 20, and is in the surgical…
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Phuket Immigration calls for Rohingya aid
PHUKET: Phuket Immigration is calling for donations of essentials for the 67 Rohingya currently under detention. “We are requesting donations of food, toiletries and clothes for the Rohingya because we do not know how long they will be detained here, as other shelters are full,” said Capt Angkarn Yasanop of the Immigration office on Phuket Road. Two groups of Rohingya…
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Marked Phuket grave gone to the dogs
PHUKET: Following a report from local villagers that they feared a foreign expat was buried at a grave near the Big Buddha image in the Nakkerd Hills, Karon Police today trooped up the hill and exhumed the remains – only to find the body of a buried dog.“At about 10:40am today, we received a report from a local plantation owner…
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Body of Russian tourist washes ashore on Phuket beach
PHUKET: The body of a Russian man last seen spearfishing a few hundred meters offshore from Kata Beach on Friday was found washed ashore at the same beach (map here) this morning. The body, still dressed in a wet suit and sporting flippers, was identified as that of 43-year-old Oleg Udaloi, Karon Police Deputy Superintendent Pachai Matthayan confirmed to the…
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Gazette office closed tomorrow (Tuesday)
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette would like to inform our readers and advertisers that our office in Koh Kaew will be closed tomorrow due to a scheduled, all-day blackout in the area to upgrade power lines. The blackout will affect Soi Harn Farang and Soi Koh Kaew 33, and may affect adjoining areas that are supplied electricity from power cables along…
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Phuket United tread on Highways Department in season closer
PHUKET: The island’s pro futsal team Phuket United ended the GMM Sport Thailand Futsal Premier League (TFPL) 2012-2013 season in fine form on Saturday in Bangkok, beating lowly Highways Department 2-4 to secure a top-five league finish. The season closer comes in contrast to Phuket’s season debut in which they were defeated by the same team on the same pitch.…
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Bank employee surrenders over Phuket hit-and-run
PHUKET: The bank employee involved in a lethal hit-and-run in central Phuket late last month has surrendered himself to police. Chaowarot Jantarak, 38, was wanted by police after witnesses saw his car hit security guard Jarin Weenada, 21, who died at the scene (story here). Officers arrived at Mr Chaowarot’s house in the Neramit Housing Estate in Pa Khlok within…
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Phuket Sports: PTT Rayong ‘Fire Power’ douses Phuket FC in league cup match
PHUKET: A late added-time goal, was enough for the PTT Rayong “Fire Power” to douse Phuket FC’s Toyota League Cup ambitions in a closely fought match last night in Phuket Town. Played in front of about 4,700 fans at Phuket’s Surakul Stadium, the cup match between the two Yamaha One League (YL1) teams yielded the same score-line the last time…
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After India, Phuket Rohingya face deportation from Thailand
PHUKET: The boatload of 91 Rohingya forced to land yesterday on Koh Lone, off the south end of Phuket, have been taken into custody and will face yet another deportation, this time from Thailand. The group, who were forced to land on Koh Lone because their boat engine seized, told reporters they were taken into custody by Indian authorities on…
Phuket is a province in the south of Thailand. Phuket's beaches face the Andaman Sea allowing the west coast beaches fantastic sunsets right throughout the year. If you're looking for news in Phuket, go to thethaiger.com/phuket Or follow our instant news in our Facebook pages.
The good news is that Phuket is famous for its foodie scene with an enormously diverse range of local and international foods - Phuket and southern favorites, street food along with international choices catering for the 12 million visitors to the island each year. Thaiger follows Phuket news and information 24 hours a day with regular updates.
Phuket is only 'just' an island with a 300 metre bridge linking it to Thailand's mainland. We're always reporting in the news that the channel beneath is frequently dredged to maintain Phuket's status as an island. On the other side of Sarasin Bridge is the Province of Phang Nga.
Getting to Phuket is easy as the island has land, air and sea connections. Phuket is also used as a take-off point for local island trips as Thailand's largest island is surrounded by over 30 pristine islands. Koh Phi Phi and the famous Maya Bay are always in the news and would be the best known of the island's just off Phuket's shores.
Phuket is an island and a province. It's the largest island in Thailand – 48 km north to south, 21 km east to west.
It's about 20% smaller, in area, than Singapore but much less densely populated. Whilst the island nation of Singapore boasts a population of nearly 6 million, Phuket has a permanent population of around 400-450,000 (but varies a lot with the influx of tourists and a workforce that is always changing). Most of Phuket remains jungle and tropical rainforest despite an acceleration of development over the past 20 years.
Unlike some of Thailand's other popular islands (that are in the Gulf of Thailand), the news is that Phuket is located in the Andaman Sea.
Phuket is 878 km north of the equator.
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