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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Firearms, ammunition and incendiary devices seized in Phuket
A team of soldiers and police yesterday (July 12) arrested two suspects and seized a cache of firearms, ammunition and incendiary devices. Officers first raided a house in Rassada around 6pm. Officers arrested 52 year old Phuket man, Sanakorn. Police seized various kinds of firearms, ammunition and incendiary devices in his home. The arrest, and subsequent information from Sanakorn, led officers…
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64 million baht approved for boat tragedy compensation
The Tourist Assistance Fund has approved about 64 million baht compensation for boats victims. One million baht is being paid as compensation for the deceased. Including the boat company’s insurance, 2.1 million baht will be paid out to the families or estates for each of the deaths following last week’s boat tragedy. The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism…
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15% of Phuket’s advanced bookings cancelled
About 15% of advance bookings have been cancelled in the past week in the wake of the boat capsize 8 days ago. Chinese tourists are voting with their bookings citing a loss of confidence in Phuket marine safety, and safety generally. The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports Pongpanu Svetarundra says, “Chinese tourists are Thailand’s most important…
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Kamala man streams live video of his suicide
A man shot himself, killing him instantly, while on a Facebook live video stream inside a bedroom in Kamala earlier today (Thursday). Kamala Police were notified that the man had shot himself at a house in Soi Bang Wan in Kamala. Police and rescue workers arrived at the scene to find the body of a man who was later identified…
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Divers recovering the last body from ‘Phoenix’
A body, a passenger on ‘Phoenix’ when the boat sank last Thursday and found stuck and unable to be removed by divers, is hopefully going to be recovered today. The task to recover the last body inside the boat started early this morning. On a separate search, one male body was found yesterday (July 11) near Phi Phi Island in…
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Mercedes Benz driver lucky to escape burning car
A Mercedes Benz driver has escaped serious injury after the vehicle he was travelling in caught fire in Mai Khao last night (July 12). Tha Chatchai Police were notified of the boring car on Thepkrasattri Road, northbound, at 11.40pm. Firefighters, along with two fire trucks and the Tha Chatchai Police, arrived at the scene to find a Mercedes Benz ablaze.…
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40 tourists, 3 boat crew safely back from Koh Racha
Phuket Marine Officers were called yesterday to bring 40 tourists back to the Phuket Deep Sea Port following another day of strong winds and high seas. At 10am yesterday (July 11) officers from the Phuket Marine Office headed to Ao Tue at Koh Racha Yai to bring 40 tourist and five boat crew back to the Phuket Deep Sea Port…
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‘Phoenix’ to be salvaged as important evidence
The ‘Phoenix’ is to be salvaged in order to help find the one remaining missing passenger as well as another body which has been stuck in the boat, unable to be recovered by divers. The boat is to be salvaged from its current location 45 metres underwater, south-west of Phuket island. The marine Department Region 3 Chief Puripat Teerakulapisut says,…
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Buddhist ceremony commemorates deceased passengers
A Buddhist ceremony has been held to commemorate the passengers who died in last Thursday’s tour-boat tragedy to the south-west of Phuket, while the search resumed for one person who remained missing. The ceremony took place at the Ao Chalong pier early yesterday morning (Wednesday) to boost the morale of grieving relatives who were present, along with locals and Chinese…
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Phuket boat disaster toll: 42 survivors, 46 found dead, 1 remains missing
The Phuket PR Office has revealed the latest death toll for passengers who drowned following the sinking of ‘Phoenix’ south-west of Phuket last Thursday evening. Three bodies were recovered in the Monday and Tuesday recovery missions. The current total for people travelling on the boat is 89 tourists plus 14 boat crew and tour guides for the fateful trip. The…
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Boat and ‘life jackets’ not fit-for-purpose
The Tourist Police Bureau have revealed that the ‘Phoenix’ was not ‘fit for purpose’ for operations in the seas off Phuket whilst the buoyancy aids that were provided for passengers didn’t reach the minimum standards required for safety vests. In the latest zero-dollar tour investigation, linked to the two boats and last Thursday’s boat sinkings, tourist police seized 21 non-standard…
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Boat tragedy suspected to be involved with zero-dollar tour company
An initial Tourist Police Bureau investigation is pointing to incriminating evidence that suggests that the ‘Phoenix’ and ‘Serenata’ were involved with the zero-dollar tour ‘Tranlee’ network. Tourist Police Deputy Commander Maj Gen Surachate Hakparn told a Phuket media briefing yesterday that the crackdown on 11 suspected zero-dollar tour companies in Phuket last year, is believed to have links to the…
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Phuket Hotels Association teams up with US Embassy to help eliminate single-use plastic
The Phuket Hotels Association has joined forces with the U.S. Embassy Science Fellowship (ESF) Program to tackle the critical issue of waste management in Phuket, with the aim of eliminating single-use plastics at the island’s hotels. Founded in 2001, the ESF Program promotes bilateral cooperation in the fields of science and technology. Since it was launched, nearly 300 scientists have…
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The Chinese husband of the owner of ‘Phoenix’ speaks to Chinese media
Zhang Wenhao, the husband of the owner of ‘Phoenix’ – T.C. Blue Company – has revealed to Chinese media that his wife manages the company. He says he is one of the employees. All employees in the company, except captains and boat crews, are all Chinese. The ‘Phoenix’ is owned by 26 year old Woraluck Rueakchaiyakan, who has a Chinese…
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PM visits Chinese families and the injured at hospitals
Thai PM General Prayut Chan-o-cha visited Vachira Phuket Hospital to meet some of the Chinese families who have lost their families members in the Phuket boat disaster. General Prayut arrived at Vachira Phuket Hospital at 2.30pm yesterday (July 9). The PM was talking to crying Chinese tourists who lost their family members and gave hugs readily whilst offering a sympathetic ear to…
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Phuket boat disaster toll: 43 dead, 4 remain missing
Yesterday (July 9) the Phuket PR Office revealed the latest death toll for passengers from the ‘Phoenix’ yacht that sunk south-west of Phuket on Thursday evening. One more body has been recovered near Koh Mai Ton. The Phuket PR Office announced that it was originally thought that there were 93 tourists plus 12 boat crew and tour guides who were…
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Strong winds bring down trees and power poles, two cars damaged
Two power cables have been brought down in Koh Sirey today (July 9) after heavy rains around the island. The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) is warning that from July 9-15, heavy rain will affect Ranong, Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi, Trang and Satun. “Small boats should stay ashore as strong winds and waves are expected, up to four metres high.” Persistent…
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Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa announces their new GM
Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa have today announced the appointment of Markus Kosch as the new GM. Markus most recently served as General Manager of Conrad Guangzhou in China. Commenting on his appointment, Markus said, “I am excited to have the opportunity to be at the helm of one of the largest resorts in Phuket.” A 22 year veteran in the…
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Boat captains facing charges after Phuket boat disasters
The captains of the two boats ‘Phoenix’ and ‘Seraneta’, that sank off Phuket on Thursday early evening (July 5), have been charged. Read more HERE. 41 people are now confirmed dead, 15 still missing with hopes fading that any more survivors will be found. One body of a Chinese man has washed up on the shores of a Phang Nga beach…
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Phuket boat sinking ‘unlikely to hamper tourism’
In the wake of last Thursday afternoon’s tragedy, where more than 50 people have perished, mostly Chinese tourists, tourism officials, economist and tour boat operators are scrambling to keep the Great Chinese Tourism Money Machine on track in Phuket. The Nation is reporting that the tour boat ‘catastrophe’ in Phuket was unlikely to harm the Thai tourism industry, but the…
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Phuket: 42 found dead, 14 still missing – 13 were children
As we emerge into a wet and soggy Monday morning in Phuket, after three full days of frantic searching in the waters south west of the island, 13 bodies, of 41 which have already been recovered, were children who have drowned in the tragedy – 8 boys and 5 girls. Searching has been expanding to Phang Nga Bay and the waters…
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Two fishermen missing after Phuket storm
Two local fishermen from Rawai have been missing since heading out fishing on Thursday (July 5). The Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command (NAC3) officers were notified yesterday morning (July 7) of the missing men. The two fishermen who remain missing are Prawit Salee and Saksri Naoprai. They headed off to the east of Koh Racha Yai at 2pm on…
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15 people remain missing from the Phoenix boat sinking
PHOTO: Thai PBS It is now well into the third day of searching for the remaining 15 missing people following Thursday evening’s capsize and sinking of the boats ‘Phoenix’ and ‘Serenata’. Passengers on the Serenata were all recovered but 105 people off the Phoenix – passengers, crew, tour guides and captain – were either trapped inside or ended up in…
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Coral planted in Maya Bay
By Sitthichai Sikhawat “Officials said they would use a drone to follow up the coral growth on a monthly basis.” As the famous Maya Bay on Koh Phi Phi in Krabi’s Muang district is now until September 30 to allow nature to recover, officials on Thursday brought 400 coral pieces to be planted onto the degraded reef at the bay.…
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Five more bodies recovered – 18 remain missing
Phuket’s Governor has updated the media of the current toll from the sinking of boats off Koh Hei on Thursday afternoon. The official death toll issued by the Phuket PR Office is 38 people with 18 people still missing. The identification process is underway on the bodies that have been retrieved from the waters off Koh Hei, south-west of Phuket.…
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Chalong boats must stay at port
The Phuket Marine Office has announced that, today (July 7), all boats are not permitted to leave from the Chalong Pier, except boats that are involved with the search teams which are under instruction from the search operation centre. The search for missing people started again this morning at 5am after being stopped late last evening. The focus of today’s…
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Search continues today for survivors. 23 remain missing.
With the body count numbers still in flux, as the recovery mission continues, the Phuket PR Office says the official death toll is 33 tourists that have died with dozens still missing. Strong winds and high waves sunk the dive yacht Phoenix, packed with mainly Chinese visitors, late on Thursday afternoon when a weather front came in from the Andaman…
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Phuket: 40 bodies recovered. 16 Chinese tourists remain missing.
The Phuket Harbour Department has announced that 40 passengers of the ill-fated Phoenix dive boat are confirmed dead as a result of the sinking of the vessel yesterday afternoon. Rescuers, led by the Royal Thai Navy, continue to comb the seas around Phuket for the remaining 16 missing Chinese, says the department in a statement. 49 people have…
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Phuket: UPDATE. What we know 2.15pm
Friday, 2.15pm • 21 dead bodies have now been recovered from near Koh Maiton and just off the coast of Koh Keaw (east Phuket) • Up to 35 remain missing (figure is continually being revised) • A Chinese female tourist has been pulled out of the Andaman Sea, alive. She has been taken to Vachira Hospital in Phuket Town in…
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Phuket: Seventeen more bodies recovered. 39 remain missing
Navy sailors have located 17 more bodies from the sea off Phuket, raising the number of confirmed deaths in boat accidents to 18, while 39 Chinese tourists remain missing. Officials aboard HTMS Long Lom recovered 12 bodies at 10.50am near the location where the tour boat Phoenix sank after being slammed by huge waves on its way back to Phuket…
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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