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.
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Tour boats warned to steer clear of dolphins off Phuket
PHUKET: Officials have warned tour guides and boat operators to stay at a safe distance from marine life, after a large pod of dolphins was spotted near Koh Mai Thon off the southeast coast of Phuket. Suchat Rattanaruengsri, head of the Marine and Coastal Resources Conservation Division Region 6, was joined by marine experts and officials as they looked into…
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First Pracharat Marine Protection Institute opens in Phuket
PHUKET: General Surasak Kanjanarat, head of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, chaired the opening ceremony of the first marine protection institute in Thailand on May 15. The Pracharat Marine Protection Institute, located in Sirinat National Park, is based on the ‘Pracharat’ ideology of economic partnerships among the people, the government and the private sector. “The institute is located…
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Second Thailand Yacht Show dates announced
PHUKET: The dates for the second edition of the Thailand Yacht Show (TYS) have now been confirmed for December 15-18, with the massive event to be held once again at Phuket’s prestigious Ao Por Grand Marina. In making the announcement, managing director Andy Treadwell of show organizers SYE Pte Ltd, explained that as a joint venture with the Government of…
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EXCLUSIVE: Phuket Prison’s female inmates talk about their lost lives
PHUKET: Behind the walls of Phuket Provincial Prison are more than 2,000 inmates. About 350 of them are women; most of them doing time for drug dealing. The Gazette takes you behind the bars of Phuket’s cramped prison for exclusive insights into the lives and circumstances of two women, ‘Wan’ and ‘Bee’, locked up for drug-related crimes in a facility…
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Grand (re)opening of Surin Beach announced
PHUKET: After years of delays and last minute attempts to save illegal beach businesses from the wrecking ball, Surin Beach has finally been restored to its ‘natural’ state. In what seems to be a rather quick rise from the rubble, officials have announced the beach’s grand opening set for June 9. It is now being called the ‘Beach of Honor’…
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Severe coral bleaching threatens popular Phi Phi dive spots
PHUKET: Coral bleaching is rife in Phi Phi national park – the worst ever recorded in Thailand – alarmed conservation officials reported yesterday. Many varieties of coral have been affected by the bleaching, which is due to the sea temperature rising to between 31 to 35 degrees Celsius, said an official from the Department of National Parks Wildlife and Plant…
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Paradise Beach club to fight demolition notice
PHUKET: Paradise Beach Management Co Ltd this afternoon vowed to appeal a Patong Municipality demolition notice of the property they currently occupy at Paradise Beach, claiming that their land document is legal. Nituch Prasertnetikul, the lawyer speaking on behalf of the company and the current land owner Sophon Eakwanit, said that news of the demolition notice, handed down last Wednesday,…
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Rawai sea gypsies finally see the light
PHUKET: The 25-household Rawai sea gypsy community is overjoyed to finally have electricity, after having lived without it for most of their lives, as a land-rights conflict hampered their access to the power grid. The free installation of a 3,000-watt solar cell-powered system to generate electricity in the area is the result of an initiative by Phra Khru Wimonpanyakhun, the…
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Weather men predict rain over Phuket by weekend
PHUKET: As many Phuketians run low on water following an extended period of drought this year, the heavens are predicted to open by the end of the week and bring forth a long-awaited downpour or two. The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) has promised rain as early as Thursday, according to an announcement on the TMD’s website today. Phuket is among…
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Phuket Marine Police seize illegally imported boat equipment
PHUKET: Marine police seized boat engines and other heavy machinery with a total value of five million baht, stored at a lockup in Rassada on Monday. “We received a tip from an anonymous source that machinery was being stored in a fishing industry warehouse in Rassada,” Phuket Marine Police Chief Panya Chaichana said. “During an early morning raid on the…
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Russian deputy consul for Phuket dies in crash
PHUKET: The Russian Federation’s Deputy Honorary Consul for Phuket died in a car crash early this morning in the Wichit sub-district. Authorities believe Santi Udomkiratak, 50, fell asleep at the wheel after they found no signs of attempted braking on the roadway. Police say the crash between Mr Santi’s Mercedes and a six-wheel truck occurred near the Jor Soo Kong…
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Intoxicated man burns BMW
PHUKET: A drunk man allegedly poured a gallon of gasoline onto a BMW and set it on fire early yesterday morning, officials confirmed. The Kathu Municipality Fire Department rushed to put out the blaze at the entrance to Irawadee Kejho village. “Locals reported the fire to the station at about 3am, after which firefighters arrived at the scene and put…
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Body of missing swimmer washes up at Nai Harn
PHUKET: A Myanmar man who was reported missing at Nai Harn Beach yesterday, was found dead this afternoon, officials confirmed. Joe Ye Bai, 22, reportedly went to Nai Harn with two of his friends and was washed away by waves at around 6:20pm, May 15. His body washed ashore on Nai Harn Beach at about 2:10pm today. “The clothes on…
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Aussie life savers support Phuket lifeguard training
PHUKET: About 60 volunteers took part in a training seminar on emergency life-saving techniques at Phuket’s Air Traffic Control Center May 10-14. The annual lifeguard training was sponsored by the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO), and was supported by members of the non-profit organization Surf Life Saving Australia. “Our trainers included personnel from the Third Naval Area Command and the…
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Environmental damage shutters Ta Chai island indefinitely
PHUKET: Ta Chai Island and the surrounding waters were today closed to tourists and members of the public with no scheduled reopening date. Officials say the island, located some 70 kilometers north of Phuket, was closed in order to allow marine life a chance to restore itself. “Normally, islands in Mu Koh Similan National Park, including Ta Chai and Similan,…
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New police station opens near Phuket airport
PHUKET: The new Sakoo Police Station officially opened its doors on May 11, to oversee Sakoo sub-district as well as the Phuket International Airport. The new station, located near Nai Yang Beach in Sirinath National Park, was one of 88 police stations opened nationwide on the same day. The new station’s operations cover five communities (Moo Baan) in Sakoo sub-district…
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Maya Bay tourist ban proposed to save marine life
PHUKET: Maya Bay could be closed next month to help save marine life. The closure of the popular tourist spot in Phi Phi National Park was proposed by marine experts as a preventative measure to help restore bleached coral and other marine life. “Currently, sea temperature is very high, and it’s expected to continue increasing from about 30.5 to about…
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Fishing captain hospitalized after ammonia leak
PHUKET: A Taiwanese fishing boat captain was injured from an ammonia leak aboard a tuna fishing vessel at the Fish Marketing Organization pier in Rassada yesterday. A Kusoldharm Foundation rescue worker received the report of the leak and found the captain unconscious. “Armed with protective masks, rescue workers boarded the Shun Ying and used a machine to remove the gas…
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Fossils found in Krabi
KRABI: Fossilized bones, possibly those of a dinosaur, have been discovered in a stream bed in Krabi. Locals stumbled across the fossils half-buried in the bank of Khlong Paklao in Na Nuea, a sub-district Ao Luek District, after the water level in the stream dropped to about half a meter following an extended period of drought. The petrified bones are…
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Power cut to affect Koh Kaew on May 17
PHUKET: A scheduled electricity shut-off will affect residents in the Koh Kaew sub-district on Tuesday, May 17. The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) announced that there will be no electricity in the area from 9am to 5pm. All areas from Chao Fah Gardens (near 7-Eleven), up to the Isuzu showroom in Koh Kaew, as well as roads in the surrounding vicinity,…
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Body found in Kathu may be missing Indonesian man, say police
PHUKET: Fresh evidence in a missing person’s case has led Phuket police to order a DNA test to confirm whether an unidentified decomposing body found floating in a Kathu pond on May 9 is that of an Indonesian man reported missing since May 7. The missing man Haiki Muhammad, 28, lived near the Thairath Wittaya School, which is where the…
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Krabi school builders to be charged for deaths of five women
KRABI: Police announced that they will be pressing charges against the construction company involved in a building collapse that killed five female workers at the Institute of Physical Education’s Krabi Campus in March. The workers were killed when fresh poured cement brought down the upper story of the building, crushing them. (story here). “Police investigators have concluded their investigation into…
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Krabi locals use bamboo leaves to boost income
KRABI: This year’s drought is forcing Krabi farmers to diversify their crops. Boonlap Maepeng, 61, was having trouble producing rubber due to a lack of water when she was approached by a Bangkok businessman looking for dried bamboo leaves, which are used as wrappings for Bak Jang (rice dumplings). Ms Boonlap now collects bamboo leaves from her entire village in…
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Paradise Beach venue threatened with demolition
PHUKET: Patong Municipality is to serve a demolition notice to Paradise Beach Phuket next week, giving the party venue in Patong 30 days to move off the land it allegedly occupies illegally. Patong Mayor Chalermluck Kebsup said Paradise Beach Management Co Ltd, which operates the beach club near Tri Trang Beach, will be formally told to remove the buildings said…
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Head-on collision kills motorcyclist at Koh Siray
PHUKET: A head-on collision with a pickup truck during light rain on May 10 killed a motorbike rider in Koh Siray, confirmed Phuket City Police. The victim was 32-year-old Kanokkarn Samartkij, said Lt Surachart Tongyai, adding that she was on the way to see her mother, who lived about 500 meters away from the crash site. “When we arrived at…
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Body of suicidal Brit found outside Phuket Town hotel
PHUKET: The body of a British man believed to have suicidal tendencies was found yesterday at the bottom of a five-story-high fire escape at the Manorah Hotel in Phuket Town. The manager of the hotel on Komalphaj Road discovered the body of Ronald Rymer, 69, on a terrace at the foot of the building’s fire escape yesterday morning, confirmed Capt…
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Two Russians arrested for working as illegal tour guides
PHUKET: Two Russian nationals were arrested at Wat Chalong Temple this morning for allegedly working illegally as tour guides, confirmed officials from the Phuket Provincial Labor Office (PPLO). “They did not have their passports, but identified themselves as Irina Soboleva and Kolia, adding that they were employed by the Anex Tour Company,” PPLO chief Sutthipong Saisakaret told the Phuket Gazette.…
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Burmese man stabbed to death in street fight
PHUKET: Police arrested a murder suspect just a few hours after the body of a Myanmar national was found at Por Pichai fishing port in Rassada yesterday evening. “The body of Rang Gu Au, 29, was found lying in a pool of blood. He had been stabbed in the shoulder,” said Maj Nucharee Longkaew of Phuket City Police. Police named…
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Milo the orangutan dies after stroke
PHUKET: Milo, the beloved orangutan saved from captivity at the Phuket Zoo, passed away last night, Warapong Kosarat, a veterinarian at the Pasupalun Livestock & Wildlife Hospital confirmed. The 13-year-old orangutan disappeared from the Phuket Zoo ahead of a raid on the facility in February (story here). Khao Phra Thaeo Non Hunting Zone officers then discovered her trapped in a…
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Teenagers busted at Phuket Airport with drugs in bra, handbag
PHUKET: Two teenage girls were busted for trying to smuggle narcotics through Phuket International Airport on Monday, in a joint raid by the Border Patrol Police (BPP) and Phuket Immigration Police. The girls, aged 16 and 19, flew in from Bangkok at about 4:30pm, confirmed Lt Amphol Samothai of the BPP. “We found 1,500 pills of methamphetamine (ya bah) 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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