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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Aot launches detailed maps to help Phuket airport visitors
PHUKET: The Airports of Thailand (AoT) has released a map for Phuket Airport after the September 16 opening of the new international terminal and commencement of renovations at the old (now domestic only) terminal. Work to revamp the domestic terminal began on November 1. The map gives directions on how to access the parking area, while an additional graphic notifies…
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Angry driver assaults Phuket gas station employee
PHUKET: Police have summoned a gas station employee and a car owner for questioning after a video clip of the driver assaulting the employee surfaced on social media yesterday. The CCTV clip (click here) shows a black Honda with licence plate number 5577 driving up to a Shell gas station in Tah Chat Chai about 6pm yesterday. After talking to…
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South Korean Ambassador and Phuket Gov talk safety, technology
PHUKET: The South Korean ambassador to Thailand and the Phuket governor discussed the technological alliance between their two countries on Wednesday morning at Provincial Hall. Governor Chockchai Dejamornthan and Ambassador Noh Kwang-li exchanged ideas for the betterment of Phuket, including the Smart City Project. “Phuket is a role model for the nation’s Smart City project,” said Gov Chokchai. “We are…
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Samkong Underpass to be closed for sign installation
PHUKET: The Phuket Highways Office has announced that the Samkong Underpass will be closed again from 9pm tonight until 4am tomorrow for a sign installation. “Wiwat Construction Co Ltd, the company contracted to build the underpass, revealed that the six-meter-long sign board adorned with its name will be installed on an I-beam at the tunnel,” said Phuket Highways Office Director…
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Flotilla to join 30-day remembrance ceremony at Promthep Cape
PHUKET: A flotilla of 50 Royal Thai Navy vessels and private yachts are to join the candle-lit ceremony at Promthep Cape this Saturday to mark the 30th day of mourning since the death of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Thousands of people are expected to attend the event to commemorate the late monarch, to be held atop the cliff at…
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Man arrested for destroying Phuket ATM
PHUKET: A man was arrested last night after he lashed out at an ATM in Patong earlier that day. “We received a report from Krungthai Bank that their ATM in front of Arunsom Hotel was destroyed. CCTV footage showed a man repeatedly striking it at 2:52am, before making his escape,” said Lt Col Somsak Thongkliang of Patong Police. Investigations revealed…
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Belarusian ‘possessed by evil spirits’ after trip to Samui
PHUKET: A hallucinating Belorussian man ran amok in Thalang on Tuesday night, shouting that he could see dead people as he stripped himself naked and ran into a rubber plantation near the Shell gas station on Thepkrasattri Road, where he and a friend had pulled up on a motorcycle. He was later found and subdued by locals, who, believing the…
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Aspiring Phuket singer gets fussy in Bangla
PHUKET: A Facebook video showing a flared up Thai singer shouting and arguing with locals in Bangla went viral Sunday night. The video shows alleged Waii Kamikaze and her boyfriend drunk and fighting with locals on Bangla Road. Facebook page ‘Red Skill V.SE’ uploaded and shared the video, with the caption: “They say she is a famous singer who just…
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Russian family of five survives speedboat sinking
KRABI: A Russian family of five, a guide and a coxswain were rescued yesterday evening after their speedboat sprang a leak and sank in Phang Nga Bay. Thanbok Khoranee National Park Chief Champen Pompakdee and a team of officers arrived at the scene – 5 sea miles (over 9 km) from Koh Hong – in three boats and successfully rescued…
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French Consul to hold first aid workshop
PHUKET: The French Honorary Consul of Phuket is holding the first in a series of basic first aid workshops at Bangkok Hospital Phuket on November 17. Organized in collaboration with Bonjour Phuket, the workshop starts at 7pm and will be conducted in French, comprising about 15 minutes of theory by a qualified medic from Noumea Hospital, followed by practical demonstration…
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Phuket yacht dealer sells first Ferretti 850 in Asia
PHUKET: Phuket-based yacht dealership Lee Marine today announced the first sale in Asia of the new Ferretti 850 luxury cruising yacht. The recent sale of the new vessel from Italian designers Ferretti Yachts is sure to raise the bar once again for pleasure yachts in this class, said Lee Marine founder and managing director Joshua Lee. “The Ferretti 850’s dynamic…
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RTN still searching for missing Russian in Similan
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy is still searching for a Russian man who went missing in the Similan Islands last week. Aleksei Stashkov reportedly disappeared last Sunday while swimming at Koh Payan, Similan Islands, on a trip with his cousin, Mikhail Kolmogorov, 60 (story here). Mr Kolmogorov filed a missing persons report last Tuesday after he came across navy personnel…
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Russian tourist dies after Bang Tao swim
PHUKET: A Russian tourist who went swimming at Bang Tao Beach yesterday evening was pronounced dead shortly after lifeguards pulled him from the sea. “Petr Agapov, 57, and his wife had been staying at the Amora Beach Resort in Cherngtalay since November 2,” Phuket City Police Major Nattaya Suphanpong told the Phuket Gazette, after receiving confirmation at 9pm from Vachira…
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Tourist associations tackle overcharging of Chinese visitors
PHUKET: Two Chinese associations in Phuket came together at Tah Chat Chai checkpoint Sunday to distribute brochures detailing ‘fair pricing’ information in order to protect Chinese tourists from being ripped off by tour operators. Ronnarit Cheunsangarun of the Thai Chinese Tourism Association, Phuket Office; Nonpuree Patarakumakornsakul of the Phuket Chinese Guide Association; and other representatives from both associations handed out…
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Royal wreath ceremony held to honor fallen Phuket soldier
PHUKET: A Royal wreath placing ceremony was held at Wat Sopon Wanaram (Pa Khlok Temple) on Saturday to honor fallen soldier Thanapon Kaewpetch, a native of Phuket, who was shot dead while on duty in the Deep South last week. Private Thanapon joined the military on November 1 last year. He was killed while guarding the Thai military installation in…
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Burmese dealers busted with large stash of drugs
PHUKET: Police yesterday arrested two Myanmar nationals for drug dealing after raiding a rented apartment room in Rassada, where they found 5,000 methamphetamine pills (ya bah) and 400 grams of crystal meth (ya ice). Aye Ayemaung, 32, was arrested in possession of 3,533 ya bah pills and 366.14 grams of ya ice, along with drug paraphernalia,” confirmed Phuket City Police…
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DDPM drains flooded areas in Krabi
KRABI: The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) Krabi began draining water from about 50 rai of land yesterday morning, after heavy rains in Khao Kram sub-district flooded a mosque, a house and a road in the area. The water level was measured to be 1.5 meters deep, and sometimes goes up to two meters during periods of heavy…
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Phuket to hold commemorative event for HM’s 30-day passing
PHUKET: Phuket is set to hold a commemorative event for His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 30-days passing this weekend. Phuket Governor Chokchai Dejamornthan has invited everyone across the island to come and pay their respects to His Majesty the King at Laem Prom Thep (Promthep Cape), Rawai, this Saturday at 3pm. The public is also invited to join in the…
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Phuket man dies during final act of kindness
PHUKET: A good Samaritan who volunteered to help remove trees that had fallen and trapped cars in Pa Khlok yesterday passed out while he was doing it and was later pronounced dead at Thalang Hospital. Social media user Suchat Leucha posted a message on Facebook which read: “Deeply sorry about the passing of a kind old man, who along with…
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Mon motorcyclist mugs Russian clubber in Patong
PHUKET: A Mon man was arrested on Saturday for robbing a Russian woman in a dark alley when she took a ride with him after leaving a night club on Bangla Road at 2am looking for a taxi. The 30-year-old victim, named by police only as ‘Victoria’, said she was beaten and robbed by Samlee Sangjan, 27, on Tuesday after…
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1 killed, 26 injured as coach to Phuket flips on wet bend
PHANGNGA: One man was killed and 26 passengers injured when the driver of a double-decker bus lost control in a sharp curve on a wet road in Phang Nga yesterday afternoon. The bus left the road and flipped, ending up on its side, crumpling the top deck and killing a naval officer based at the Third Area Naval Command in…
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Patong Mayor unmoved by beach vendors’ pleas
PHUKET: Patong Mayor Chalermluck Kebsup on November 1 dug in her heels against alleged public land encroachment by Patong Beach food vendors. A three-hour meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall between Patong Municipality officials, Phuket Provincial officers and beach vendors ended without any definite conclusion, which Mayor Chalermluck attributed to the fact that beach vendors ‘never made good on their promises’.…
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Australian tourist injured in elephant attack
PHUKET: An Australian tourist was hospitalized after he was attacked by an elephant chained to a tree inside a forest in Mai Khao. “Chan Yong Shun, 62, had gone for a walk in the area on Monday, when he came across the four-year-old elephant named Namwan and moved closer to take a picture,” said Tah Chat Chai Police Superintendent Prawit…
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Flash floods cause massive traffic jam in Phuket
PHUKET: Flash flooding has caused a major traffic jam on Thepkrasattri Road southbound, with hundreds of vehicles trying to make their way through the catastrophe this afternoon. Police and Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers are redirecting small vehicles and motorcycles to use the alternative road in front of Phuket Muang Thalang School. The flood occurred north of Thalang Town after hours…
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Four foreigners arrested for theft
HUA HIN: Four foreigners were arrested in Hua Hin on Wednesday for breaking into a car and stealing 188,000 baht in cash in Surat Thani on Monday. The suspects were named as Nofadly Bin Bakhtiar from Malaysia, and Asis Bin Bakar, Agung Pratama and Arie Darma from Indonesia. “On Monday, the victim, 72-year-old Niyom Srisawat, withdrew 188,000 baht in cash…
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Dropped candle blamed for Phuket blaze
PHUKET: A candle falling onto a bed is believed to have been the cause of a fire which gutted a row of five houses in Thalang last night. No one was injured in the blaze, which broke out at 10pm in the Baan Mak Prok community and quickly spread to nearby houses, Tah Chat Chai Police Capt Thanom Thongpan told…
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Body of fallen Phuket soldier returns home
PHUKET: The body of a soldier, shot dead while on duty in Pattani last night, was brought back to his home in Phuket’s Pa Khlok sub-district today. Private Thanapon Kaewpetch, 23, had completed his term as a soldier, but had been carrying on his duty voluntarily. Phuket officials and army personnel, led by Gen Akom Pongprom of the 41st Military…
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Air and sea operations underway to find missing Russian man
PHUKET: Officials are searching for a Russian man who went missing on Sunday while swimming at Koh Payan, Similan Islands. Aleksei Stashkov reportedly disappeared while swimming on a trip with his cousin, Mikhail Kolmogorov, 60. Mr Kolmogorov filed a missing persons report on Tuesday after he came across navy personnel from the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command, while searching…
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Shooting suspect arrested in Phuket
PHUKET: A suspect wanted for shooting and injuring a boat crew member last week was arrested yesterday in Rassada. The victim, named Suchat Hetthong, was injured when a heated argument led to a shootout at his home near Koh Sirey Bridge (story here). “Our investigations led us to arrest one of the suspects, named Parin Supalak, 18, at his rented…
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Indebted Phuket man found hanged
PHUKET: A motorbike taxi driver was found hanged in a room in Patong last night, along with a letter nearby. “We found the body of Boonchai Tongsirikul, 65, hanging from a nylon rope in a room on Pisitkoranee Road,” said Capt Sininat Cherdchutrakulthong of the Patong Police. “There were no signs of a struggle or any violence inflicted on his…
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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