Phuket News
Phuket news, politics, business, tourism, and nightlife—stay updated with breaking stories, events, and expat updates from Thailand’s top island destination. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Phuket news source.
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Phuket Red Cross makes urgent call for O-negative blood
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC), often called upon to save the lives of Thais and foreigners, has no reserves of O-negative type blood. “We try to maintain a daily minimum stock of 200 units of A, B and O blood types, and 20 units of Rhesus-negative blood,” said PRBC Acting Chief Pornthip Rattajak. “We need all types of…
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Russian tourists injured as Phuket tour bus slams into Patong house
PHUKET: Five Russian tourists were injured when the brakes failed on a Pegas Touristik bus while the vehicle was descending the steep hill into Phuket’s premier resort town of Patong at about 6pm this evening. The Bangkok-registered bus came to a thudding halt as it slammed into a house by the side of the road near Suwankiriwong Temple, known locally…
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Phuket’s most famous beachfront road to get 200-million-baht face lift
PHUKET: A plan to beautify over 3.5 kilometers of the Patong beachfront road by hiding unsightly power lines underground was presented at a public hearing yesterday in Patong.If the 203-million-baht project passes the public hearing process, as it is expected to, construction could start this year, covering the stretch of Taweewong Road from the three-junction in Kalim to Klong Pak…
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Phuket officials scramble over missing Rohingya
PHUKET: Officers at the Phuket Shelter for Children and Families on Koh Sireh this afternoon called an emergency meeting to discuss reports of Rohingya refugees disappearing from the center early yesterday morning. The meeting was called when news reports surfaced that Muslim women and children were noticed missing from the shelter at about 2:30am. The mass disappearance followed two other…
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![Twelve Burmese dead as border boat run goes fatally wrong [video report] | Thaiger](data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0naHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmcnIHZpZXdCb3g9JzAgMCAyOTMgMjIwJz48L3N2Zz4=)
Twelve Burmese dead as border boat run goes fatally wrong [video report]
PHUKET: Marine Police recovered the bodies of nine Burmese nationals yesterday, bringing to 12 the number who died when their boat capsized in rough seas north of Phuket as they attempted to evade a Thai coastal patrol on Friday night.Pak Nam Police in Ranong province confirmed that the nine bodies retrieved yesterday comprised three women and six men found floating…
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Phuket lifeguards warn tourists of dangerous surf at beaches
PHUKET: The lifeguards stationed at Phuket’s popular beaches have urged tourists to beware the dangerous surf and rip tides brought on by the return of the annual southwest monsoon. Strong winds and swirling currents together with big tides are creating dangerous swimming conditions at Phuket’s key tourist beaches, Phuket Lifeguard Club President Prathaiyut “Nut” Chuayuan explains. “I urge all visitors…
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Phuket danger season surf claims one life, endangers fishing vessel
PHUKET: The heavy waves striking Phuket’s west coast over the weekend claimed the life of one man fishing at Patong last night and demanded the Marine Police assist a fishing boat in distress.Police responded to an emergency call at about 7pm yesterday, reporting that one man had drowned while fishing at Patong.The officers arrived at the scene, the southern headland…
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Parental slur incites drunken Phuket murder
PHUKET: Police have arrested two suspects for the murder of the Thalang motorcycle taxi driver whose body was found in a canal in central Phuket yesterday (story here). Thalang Police Superintendent Sirisak Wasasiri this morning presented to the press Chakrit Polklum, 35 and Prasit Sae-ong, 31. “Our investigation led us to discover that the day before Mr Thammanoon’s body was…
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Phuket tourists, divers to be warned off damaged coral zone
PHUKET: The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) will install floating signs to warn tourists and local divers not to disturb coral that is undergoing restoration after suffering extensive damage at a seawalking site off Phuket. The site includes more than 300 square meters of coral off Khai Nai Island that was allegedly destroyed by a seawalking tour company…
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Phuket KBank customers warned of trojan, spyware
PHUKET: Kasikornbank (KBank) today issued a warning for all online banking customers to beware a trojan spyware message asking customers to download a program to their computer or mobile phone. Doing so may allow the spyware to steal your “one time password” SMS text messages sent from the bank’s online banking system, called “K-Cyber Banking”, to the mobile phone and…
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Europa League winners to gain Champions League ticket
PHUKET: To try and boost the ailing Europa League, UEFA president Michel Platini announced last week that – starting from the 2014/15 season – the winners would qualify for the Champions League. Platini also said that a fifth Champions League place is to be awarded to clubs in the big European leagues. Under this new system, the Europa League winners…
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Dylan Hartley to miss Lions tour
PHUKET: We now know the final composition of the Lion’s squad, the English Premiership winners, the Pro Twelve Irish champions, and the finalists in the French domestic competition. Jonny Wilkinson, not selected for the Lions tour of Australia, but available in the case of injury, gave another vintage performance in steering European Cup winners Toulon to the French championship final…
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Phuket Prison used to lure meth dealer
PHUKET: Thalang District officers yesterday used Phuket Provincial Prison as a venue to lure a suspected drug dealer into making a ya bah (methamphetamine) delivery during which he was arrested.Undercover officers placed Atthachai Sittabut, 36, under arrest during a sting operation in front of the prison in Phuket Town at 2:30pm.A subsequent search of Mr Atthachai’s house in Mai Khao,…
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Basic training tips for Phuket’s athletes
PHUKET: As we all know, Phuket is a world renowned holiday destination for thousands of people from around the globe. But did you also know it is one of the ultimate training and competition destinations in the eyes of international athletes? The island has mountains, hill trails, sandy beaches, beautiful coastlines and hosts many local and international sporting events –…
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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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