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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Big-bike rider killed on Phuket road
A big-bike biker has died following a collision into the the back of a parked mini truck in Koh Kaew this morning (August 25). The Phuket City Police were notified of the accident at 4.05am near the PTT gas station in Koh Kaew on Thepkrasattri Road, southbound. Police and emergency responders arrived at the scene to find a parked mini…
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Indian tourist dies after being pulled out of the surf at Kata Beach
PHOTOS: Karon Police, Newshawk An Indian male tourist has been pronounced dead after being hauled out from the Kata Beach surf yesterday (August 24). Karon Police were notified at 5pm that three tourists had been recovered from the surf in a red flag zone area. They were taken to hospital. Karon Police reported that the tourists taken the Chalong Hospital…
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Floods and landslides in Phang Nga damage homes
The Nation is reporting that flash floods damaged nearly 30 homes in Phang Nga while a landslide hit a house in the Kapong district. The governor Sitthichai Sakda led a team to inspect the damage today (Friday). Sitthichai, along with Kapong district chief Surat Laichan and Phang Nga disaster prevention and mitigation chief Sayan Kijmano, inspected the damage at Ban…
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Phuket man confesses to Sattahip double murder
Phuket bar owner Panya “Sia Auan Bangla” Yingdang, extradited from Cambodia on Tuesda, has since confessed to masterminding last month’s murder of a former teen beauty queen and her partner in Chon Buri’s Sattahip district. 39 year old Panya, the final suspect to be captured in the case, also admitted to reporters while he was being escorted away to perform…
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Tourists back on Mudong Canal after frantic clean-up
Water quality of the Mudong Canal in Wichit is starting to be return to normal while tourists are back on nature boat sailing tours along the canal. Local residents near Mudong Canal in Wichit, Phuket have been calling for officials to clean up the filthy canal after wastewater was found flowing along the canal and out to the sea. Dead…
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Overnight rains trigger floods in Phang Nga
Last night it rained and rained in parts of Phuket and Phang Nga. This morning there were floods affecting many of the main arteries in both provinces. Several roads and villages in Phang Nga were hit with hillside runoff and landslides following heavy rain overnight. Officials say the Bang Sai-Pakweep road in Ban Dok Daeng village in Tambon Bang Sai…
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Location on hills in Patong, Karon and Kata to lose pressure Friday
The Phuket Water Authority (PWA) has announced that the water supply in some areas of Patong, Kata and Karon will be shut off from 9am to 5pm Friday (August 24). Water will be shut off as the Patong Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) will have to temporarily shut the electric off in some areas. Areas to be affected are locations on hills in Patong,…
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Phuket garage owner arrested with drugs and firearms
Sakoo Police have arrested a garage owner and seized drugs, firearms and bullets. Police have arrested 34 year old Pohnchai ‘Jane’ Petcharat, from Phuket, who is a garage owner in Sakoo. Officer have seized a handgun, two handmade handguns, a BB gun, a rifle and 67 bullets. Police also seized 319 methamphetamine pills. Phonchai was taken to Sakoo Police Station where…
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Waste water flowing in Mudong Canal
Local residents near Mudong Canal in Wichit, Phuket, are calling for officials to clean up their act after wastewater has been flound flowing in the canal and out to the sea. Dead animals have also found floating in the canal. Yesterday (August 22) officials from the Environment Office Region 15 Phuket and others inspected the Mudong Canal. Local residents say…
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Flooding in Phuket, Phetchaburi and Mae Hong Son
PHOTO: Samkong underpass, Phuket – Newshawk Bad weather has hit Phang Nga and Phuket this morning whilst the flooding waters from the Kaeng Krachan dam in Phetchaburi are now reaching the main business district. In Phuket the major arteries are being clogged by flooding waters creating havoc for this morning’s peak hour. The Marine Office has issued a warning for…
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Warning for boats going to sea until tomorrow
The Phuket Marine Office has made an official announcement for boats to be “careful when going to sea until tomorrow (August 23), due to poor weather”. The announcement was issued yesterday (August 21) stating that “The Meteorological Department of Thailand (TMD) has forecast that from August 21-23 the monsoon will cause waves up to three metres in the open sea.”…
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Phuket Vegetarian Festival dates announced
FILE PHOTOS Phuket Vice Governor Prakob Wongmaneerung has announced the dates for this year’s Vegetarian Festival. The nine day festival will take place from October 9-17. The event attracts thousands of visitors to Phuket to witness the festivities, which include fire-walking, bladed-ladder climbing, daily parades, body piercings and, of course, hundreds of stalls fully stocked with vegetarian foods Vice Governor…
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Mass prayer ceremony held for victims of the Phoenix boat disaster
A mass prayer ceremony was held this morning (August 22) at Saphan Hin for victims of the Phoenix boat disaster, marking 49 days since the tragedy. The government held the ceremony to acknowledge the Chinese victims of the Phoenix boat tragedy on July 5. The two day ceremony is being held on August 22-23. Volunteers’ activities and walk-run activity are…
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Old Phuket Town Sunday market launches no-smoking campaign
The Phuket City Municipality is launching a no-smoking campaign for the weekly Lard Yai Sunday market on Thalang Road each Sunday night. The Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansuppana says, “We are concerned about the danger of cigarette smoking, especially secondhand smoke that can be inhaled by other people, including children. Tourists and local residents in Old Phuket Town will be…
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Old Phuket Town goes underground
FILE PHOTO The Phuket City Mayor is warning of inconvenience to traffic in Old Phuket Town while work is underway installing underground cabling. The Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansuppana says, “We are working on the underground cable system in Old Phuket Town areas – Phang Nga Road and Rassada Road. The work is 62 percent complete. The new underground electrical…
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Phuket ready for ‘hungry ghost’ festival
The Phuket City Municipality has organised a wide range of activities for the annual Por Tor festival from August 23 to September 9 in Phuket Town. Promoted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) regional office in Phuket Town, the Por Tor festival has its roots from the Chinese “Spirit” or “Hungry Ghost” festival, one of the most important ancestor worship events on the Chinese…
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Getting THAT ‘plane’ pic at Phuket Airport
The Phuket International Airport runway is built right on the beach, Nai Yang Beach. The actual runway, running east/west, finishes about 150 metres before the actual beach. So, when planes are landing from the west they come down really low over the people on the beach just before it touches down. Pilots like to land fairly close to the start…
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Motorbike driver killed in Thepkasattri road
A motorbike driver has died after colliding with a pickup truck last night (August 20). The incident happened near the new Honda Marine showrooms and offices on Thepkrasattri road, southbound, at about 11.45pm last night. Rescue workers and police arrived at the scene to find a damaged motorbike on the road. Nearby they found the body of a motorbike driver…
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The new Blue Tree waterpark and entertainment precinct unveiled
Phuket’s tourism industry has received a major shot in the arm with the unveiling of the new Blue Tree Phuket – a US$40 million investment and multi-dimensional destination waterpark and entertainment complex set over 140 rai in Cherng Talay. Positioning themselves as ‘Phuket’s premier family attraction’, Blue Tree is the island’s first international-standard, fully integrated waterpark and family entertainment complex.…
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Lights, camera, action – Soi Dog
Soi Dog Foundation has arranged a dog photo contest, ‘Snap for Stray’, which is open to both professional and amateur photographers with any kinds of digital camera – DSLR to mobile phone. The contest aims to reflect the beautiful perspective of stray dogs through the lens by letting the contestants choose their model dog from Soi Dog Foundation. The dogs…
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A rat found in a bag of fermented fish
Phuket consumer protection officials inspected Phuket’s main department store in Rassada after a customer found a dead rat inside a packet of Thai fermented fish (Pla ra) products. A team of officials from the Office, headed by Somnuek Halem, inspected the large department store in Rassada after the news had already gone viral in social media. Officials found that all…
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Mövenpick Resort & Spa Karon Beach adopts a gibbon from Phuket’s Rehabilitation Centre
Mövenpick Resort & Spa Karon Beach Phuket continues its ongoing CSR efforts within Phuket’s community by recently adopting a gibbon from Phuket’s Gibbon Rehabilitation Centre. On Saturday, August 11, the resort’s Green Team visited the Rehabilitation Centre to provide financial support to the foundation. During the visit, the team was introduced to Arya, a seven year old female gibbon born…
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Bangla lady boy caught stealing tourists’ wallets
A lady boy has been taken to Patong Police station after being caught by tuk-tuk and taxi drivers after allegedly stealing tourists’ wallets on Bangla Road early today (August 20). At about 5am this morning, taxi and tuk-tuk drivers were helping to catch a lady boy who had been allegedly stealing wallets from Republic of Czechoslovakia tourists while they were…
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TAT article promoting ‘friendly waves’ gets slammed
Bad timing for the TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand) after they posted a feature on August 10 that promoted surfing off Phuket’s west coast beaches. Phuket is currently facing a crisis of confidence over the lack of adequate lifeguard services along its west coast beaches, battered annually by heavy seas and deadly rip tides and currents from the south-west monsoon.…
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Private sector proposes southern economic plan to mobile Cabinet
PHOTO: Emulating the French Riviera, but with better beaches. “The Andaman Riviera”? Emulating the famous French Riviera coast is part of a plan to promote the Andaman coastline, which includes Ranong, Phang Nga and Phuket as the star attractions and wrapping up other southern provinces into the new tourist precinct – just a part of recommendations to the mobile cabinet sitting…
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Chinese tourist drowns at Koh Racha
A male Chinese tourist, who ignored red flags, has drowned at Koh Racha yesterday (August 19). Chalong Police were notified at 1.40pm that a tourist was unconscious after being pulled from surf just off the island’s main beach. The tourist was immediately taken on a speedboat back to Chalong Pier. The tourist was later identified as 32 year old Zhang…
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More fake goods seized in Patong
Yesterday (August 17) police and soldiers raided a warehouse in Patong and seized more than 200 counterfeit goods. A team of officers from the Economic Crime Suppression Division (ECD) joined the raid at the warehouse of Lanta Souvenir in Patong’s OTOP Market on Rat-Uthit 200 pi Road. 28 year old Wut Boonkanpai was present and was acting as the shop’s…
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Central Phuket opens on September 10
The new Central Phuket is set to open its doors on September 10. The announcement was made at Centara Grand Beach Resort, also owned by the Central Pattana Group. The concept of the new shopping centre, twice as big as the current Central Festival, is ‘The World Comes To Play’. The new complex will feature 20 of the world’s biggest…
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Tourist numbers tumble as Chinese media expose entrenched safety problems
The fallout from July’s tragic boat accident are just now starting to bite as tourists, who would have been about to make a booking around the time the accident happened, decided to book an alternate holiday destination instead. Despite the bravado and PR exercises, many Thai business people are secretly worried about the big drop-off in numbers. The drop in…
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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