Phuket News
Discover the latest news and updates from Thailand’s most famous and beautiful island, The Thaiger’s hometown, having previously operated as the Phuket Gazette.
Our team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from Phuket, covering everything from local politics and business to lifestyle and tourism. Learn about the island’s stunning beaches, vibrant nightlife, and thriving expat community, as well as keeping updated on events, and attractions.
The Thaiger is your ultimate guide to staying connected with Phuket’s ever-evolving landscape. To keep up with the most reliable news source on the island, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media.
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IndiGo pulls non-stop flights between Phuket and Bengaluru
‘Commercial non-viability’ is the official reason given for the pulling of the twice-weekly non-stop flights between Bengaluru, India and Phuket by IndiGo Airline. The airline’s six weekly non-stop flights between Delhi and Phuket will continue. “Phuket is a key market for IndiGo and we see great potential in the growth of tourism between India and Phuket. We will explore various…
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Australian navy ship HMAS Canberra visits Phuket for maritime exercises
The Australian Navy ship and navy officers have arrived at Patong beach to join the annual maritime enforcement exercises for ‘Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2019’ today. The Australian Navy’s HMAS Canberra, which is carrying helicopters, and HMAS Newcastle arrived in Patong on Saturday to join the ‘Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2019’ . Air Commodore Rick Owen says, “We visited here to continue the good…
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Man arrested with Cat 1 drugs and guns in Phuket
Officers have arrested a drug suspect in Cherng Talay, Phuket. The man was found with 20,666 methamphetamine pills, 339 grams of crystal methamphetamine (a third of a kilogram) and two guns. Phuket Administrative Officers and the Cherng Talay Police arrested 38 year old Komsan Prateep ‘Hug’ Na Thalang at an apartment in Cherng Talay. Police seized the methamphetamine pills and…
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Tourists injured as minivan flips over in Krabi
Indian tourists have sustained minor injuries after the minivan they were traveling in over-turned in Krabi on the way back to Ao Nang from Phuket. Ao Nang Police were notified of the incident on Nong Talay – Khao Thong Road in Mueang Krabi District yesterday at 10.30am. Police and emergency responders arrived to find the passenger van flipped over, on…
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Buyback Option at VIP KATA Condominium by Phuket9
Phuket9 Company announces a buy-back option for VIP KATA Condominium Project with a rental return of 56% over 8 years. The first two buildings of VIP KATA Condominium were launched in July 2018. After one month in August 2018, Phuket9 commenced construction of the second phase – 2 more buildings including 209 apartments, 2 common swimming pools, rooftop gardens, restaurants and a kids club.…
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Omura’s whale sighted of Koh Similan in Phang Nga
PHOTOS: Wow Andaman Omura’s whale has been sighted off the Koh Similans in Phang Nga this week. Tour guides from the Wow Andaman Tour were on a speedboat with tourists at the Koh Similans. They say they sighted an Omura’s whale near the boat. Marine biologist Dr Thon Thamrongnawasawat says, “There are many endanger marine species which areoften sighted in…
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Two Aussie cave diving doctors holiday in Phuket
Today at the Phuket International Airport officials welcomed Dr.Richard James Harris and Dr.Craig Challen, Australian divers who were part of the rescue team that recovered the 13 young footballers from the Tham Luang caves in Chiang Rai last July. The two doctors devised the plan to train other divers about anaesthesia and medically sedate the Mu Pa team so they…
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Man found dead in pickup with charcoal burner in Rassada, Phuket
A man has been found dead inside a pickup truck with a coal burner also inside the vehicle in Rassada this morning. Police were notified of the situation in Soi Muen Sri in Rassada. Police and emergency responders arrived to find the man’s body in the parked pickup truck. The man was identified as 28 year old Weerawat Pakdeewirot from…
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Army commander visits Phuket residents to discuss water shortage
Lt Gen Pornsak Poonsawat, the Commander of the Fourth Army Region (Southern) in Nakhon Si Thammarat, came to Phuket to visit residents over water shortage issues in Rassada. Lt Gen Pornsak says “we were contacted from the Phuket Governor that Phuket is facing serious water shortages. We have come here with water trucks to help residents to join with other…
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Power outage hits parts of Thalang
Electricity was shut off in Thalang today. The The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) announced the outage. Residents of Thalang have had to endure blackouts from 9am to 4.30pm today as the PEA continues its work on high power voltage systems in the area. Areas being affected are from Makprok PTT Gas Station to Baan Mueang Mai Intersection and from Baan…
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Mystery luxury house found under construction overlooking Bang Wad Dam in Kathu
PHOTOS: Chatchanon Na Thalang A luxury house, under construction, has been found on the Nark Herd Hills overlooking Bang Wad Dam in Kathu. The issue came to light after aerial photos of the house went viral in local social media. Yesterday officials paid a visit to the new house. A man name Taweep Phonputchai from Bangkok, a representative of the…
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Residents protest the Phuket Governor over water shortages
Local residents in Rassada have picketed the Phuket Provincial City hall to demand answers from the Phuket Governor over the current water shortages. Phuket Governor Pakkaphong Tavipattana told the media yesterday they are managing to solve water shortage problems in Phuket throughout this dry season. Whilst claiming that there was no ‘drought crisis’ in Phuket the Governor said… “All local…
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Phuket’s seastead couple remain elusive
The Seastead may be under 24 hour guard at the Port of Phuket but the couple who were staying in the structure offshore from Phuket, and have become the international face of the seastead experiment, remain elusive. According to Phuket’s deputy police chief Pol Colonel Witoon Kongsudjai, their mobile phone signal identified the couple’s last known location as Tarutao Island…
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Phuket faces critical water shortages if the monsoon doesn’t arrive soon
Phuket is now, officially, experiencing water shortages, with water in the province’s three catchments just enough for the supply of tap water until the end of May, and the condition is expected to get worse if the annual monsoon doesn’t kick in soon. The annual south-west monsoon usually starts dragging in moist air and the ‘wet season’ begins sometime around…
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Soldier attacked and killed by her husband over alleged affair in Rawai
A female soldier has been attacked and killed by her soldier husband over an alleged sexual affair in Rawai today. The Chalong Police were notified of the incident at 8.30am this morning at a hotel on Patak Road in Rawai. Police arrived at the room to find the 39 year old woman, Ratchadaphon Mongkonrung, a Squadron Leader with the Thai…
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Phuket’s water supply in a critical situation
Phuket’s water lords are now admitting the island’s water situation is in a critical situation – a situation they have had the power to avert but have chosen instead to ‘hope’ for monsoonal rains and go in search of alternative water sources to top up the dwindling catchment resources. Phuket is now in the throws of a water shortage. The…
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Slow loris released back into Phuket forest
PHOTOS: Department of National Parks Officers from of the Khao Phra Thaeo Non-Hunting Area have helped in the release of a slow loris back into the wild yesterday. The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation reports that the head of Khao Phra Thaeo Non-Hunting Area, Pongchart Chueahom, yesterday released the slow loris to the Khao Phra Thaeo Non-Hunting…
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Seastead structure dragged back to shore by Royal Thai Navy
A floating seastead has today been towed by a naval vessel back to the Port of Phuket in Cape Panwa. Meanwhile the Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam is challenging the owners and builders of the structure to take the Thai Government and Navy to the International Court of Justice. The Royal Thai Navy’s Third Fleet ventured out with a group of…
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Phuket taxi slams into tree in Phattalung
PHOTOS: Phattalung Rescue Two people have sustained serious injuries after a Phuket taxi slammed into a tree in Phattalung last night. Phattalung rescue workers were notified of the accident in Mueang Pattalung District at 7.57pm last night (Sunday). They arrived at the scene to find the Phuket registered taxi resting in front of the big tree on the side of…
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Phuket seastead being removing by Thai Navy today
Navy officers are in the process of dismantling and removing the Phuket seastead today. About 300 navy officers are currently in the process removing the structure off the south east coast of the island. The operation is expected to be done by today, according to a spokesperson. The seastead will be kept at the Phuket Deap Sea Port as evidence…
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Legality of Seastead likely to be tested in an international court
The perceived naiveté of the team surrounding the seastead structure off Phuket’s south-east coast are about to be tested as the matter is likely to end up in an international court. Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam says that the Thai government has the right to demolish the floating sea home and welcomed the threat of a lawsuit by its builder, Ocean…
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Phuket seastead will be removed today
The Third Naval Area Command will remove the seastead stationed off Phuket south-east coast today, belonging to an American bitcoin investor and seasteading innovators Ocean Builders. Thai authorities plan to seize the structure as evidence in a criminal case. They fear the structure will continue to be a navigation hazard if left there. US national Chad Elwartowski and his Thai…
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Maya Bay’s extended closure “vital to conserve the ecology”
Maya Bay’s extended closure keeps the wraps on one of southern Thailand’s most popular tourist attractions. Worapot Lomlim, chief of the Hat Nopparat Thara Phi Phi Islands national park confirmed this week that he might keep Maya Bay closed for up to five years to allow the current recovery to continue. The Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation…
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Immigration police interview Phuket’s ‘seasteader’
Immigration police says they’ve have questioned the American bitcoin investor who was involved in the setting up of the “seasteading” structure off the coast of Phuket and is facing criminal charges related to the waterborne homestead. Chad Andrew Elwartowski and his Thai girlfriend, Suprenee Thepdet (aka Nadia Summergirl), launched their seastead project on February 2 off the coast of Phuket…
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Phuket’s water lords confident of supplies and back-up plans
PHOTO: Welcome to the moonscape – Bang Neow Dum off Srisoonthorn Road Well in to the second half of April in Phuket and the water situation is still dire, despite repeated assurances from the Provincial Irrigration Office and the Phuket Water Authority. The most recent assessment of the island’s three main catchments were that there was 2.8 million cubic metres of…
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Italians, Thais and Burmese arrested for illegally fishing in Phang Nga national park
Two Italians, three Thais and a Burmese man have been caught fishing illegally in the Mu Koh Similan National Park area off the Phang Nga coast yesterday. Private fishing is illegal inside the marine national park area. The head of the Mu Koh Similan National Park Ruamsin Manajongjaroen says that officers were notified that the boat had been spotted catching…
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Man charged after stabbing Australian tourist in Phang Nga
A man has been charged after stabbing an Australian tourist who sustained serious injuries in Phang Nga yesterday. The Khao Lak Police were notified that the Australian man sustained injuries after being stabbed at a bar in Takua Pa, Phang Nga last evening. The injured man is 44 year old Australian tourist William Mark Wayne. He was rushed to Takua…
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Australian snorkeller collects trash at Kalim beach everyday
PHOTOS: Patong Surf Life Saving An Australian man has been seen collecting trash in the waters just off Kalim beach in Patong every day over the past month. The Patong Surf Life Saving team report that they have seen the foreign man, an Australian national, collecting trash near the shoreline at Kalim Beach every day. Every morning he heads off…
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Burmese man stabbed to death in Thalang, Phuket
A Burmese man has been stabbed to death whilst drinking alcohol with friends in Thalang last night. Police are investigating to identify and prosecute a suspect. The Thalang Police were notified of the incident at a worker camp in the Panason housing estate on Bang Jo – Khao Lan Road in Thalang at 11.30pm last night Police and emergency responders…
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Total five deaths in Phuket Songkran ‘Seven Day of Danger’ campaign
PHOTO: Kathu Police As reports are tallied for the seventh full day (April 17) of the ‘Seven Days of Danger’ road and marine safety campaign, there were 3 road accidents, including 1 injury and two deaths on the final day. Those two dead were from separate motorbike accidents. A motorbike driver, 68 year old Filipino man Regoberto Igaciq, died at…
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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