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.
-
Sponsored 5 hidden healthcare costs in Thailand and how to avoid them
Thailand's healthcare system is affordable and supported by the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) scheme, offering essential services to most citizens. However, hidden healthcare costs can surprise patients and lead to unexpected expenses. These include specialist fees, insurance gaps, emergency services,...
-
Breaking News: One more boat sinks, one wrecked off Phuket
PHUKET: One boat sank and another was beached this morning off Phuket in the rough southwest monsoon seas, confirmed Phuket Marine Police Chief Panya Chaichana. “There were six people on the fishing trawler that sank at about 8:15am. There are 10 people on the other boat, which is currently wrecked on Koh Hei [Coral Island] and taking in water,” Mr…
-
Phuket allocated B3.5bn for infrastructure upgrades
PHUKET: Road projects will make up half of the 3.5 billion baht worth of projects approved to make much-needed changes on the island, said Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong last week. The Highways Department has been awarded 1.75bn baht to improve the island’s infrastructure through four projects, confirmed Samak Luedwonghad, director of the Phuket Highways Office. First is a 550-million-baht underpass…
-
Search for missing crew to halt at dark, says Navy
PHUKET: The search for the six crew members of the 30-meter barge Sintu Phuket 1 will carry on until dark, with stormy conditions continuing over the seas where the boat was lost early this morning, about 25 kilometers south of Phuket (story here). “We suspect that the ship sank northeast of Koh Racha Yai, and have been focusing our search…
-
Governor backs GrabTaxi push into Phuket
PHUKET: GrabTaxi is preparing to push into Phuket, following the attempt of similar service provider Uber, which has sliced off a piece of the island’s taxi-service market since it arrived here in November last year (story here). Unlike Uber, which was originally declared illegal by local government officers as they wrangled with exactly what the business model was (story here),…
-
Cash out Phuket: Kbank to close services for 48 hours
PHUKET: Kasikorn Bank (Kbank) has advised all bank customers on Phuket to plan ahead as it will be closing all banking services, including ATMs, for 48 hours next week. Customers will be unable to use Kbank services from 10pm on Friday, July 17 to 10pm on Sunday, July 19. “We are aware that this will affect a lot of our…
-
Six missing as ship sinks between Koh Racha and Phi Phi
PHUKET: Six people remain missing after a boat sank between Koh Racha Yai and Koh Phi Phi at about 3:55am today. The Navy was informed of the sinking and immediately dispatched a search team for those on board the vessel, which was carrying construction materials and a backhoe from Ao Makham to Koh Racha Yai. “We were first alerted by…
-
Myanmar workers protest foreman assault
PHUKET: More than 100 Myanmar laborers from Care Con Co Ltd gathered to protest the assault of a coworker at the company’s construction site in Thalang on Saturday. Police spent 30 minutes talking to protesters before taking the suspect and victim to the police station for questioning. “Foreman Atipong Saenboon, 28, confessed to threatening Sai Min Lin, 22, with a…
-
Phuket Governor pushes green plan on Koh Racha
PHUKET: Phuket officials moved to ensure the environmental sustainability and the growth of the tourism industry on Racha Island with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with local hotels and restaurants on Saturday. Governor Nisit Jansomwong signed the MoU on proper trash and wastewater disposal during his visit to the island, while also underscoring that all segments, including…
-
Alleged robbery victim found dead next day
PHUKET: The alleged victim of a robbery on Friday evening was found dead, hanging from the door to the rooftop terrace of her apartment building yesterday morning. Jantana Seangdee, 37, filed a report with Phuket City Police that two thieves robbed her of her brother’s 400,000 baht in cash after kicking her off her motorbike and stealing her bag (story…
-
Kenyan arrested with allegedly fake passport, pharmaceuticals
PHUKET: A Kenyan national was arrested at Phuket International Airport on Saturday night for carrying an extensive amount of pharmaceuticals and an allegedly fake passport. Josphat Gikundi Gichunuku, 35, entered Thailand via a flight from Dubai, confirmed Phuket Tourist Police Chief Urumporn Koondejsumrit. “As Mr Gichunuku proceeded through the immigration queue, the officer checking his passport noticed several suspicious aspects…
-
Small boats ordered to stay ashore, day trips cancelled
PHUKET: Day-trip tourists are to remain ashore today after Phuket officials ordered that all boats less than nine meters remain on the island until further notice. “The order became effective today. We’ll see what the weather does and make adjustments accordingly. I’m expecting to have to order boats smaller than 12 meters to keep ashore soon,” Phuket Marine Office Chief…
-
Breaking News: Another two killed on Patong Hill
PHUKET: A cement truck descending the infamous Patong Hill killed two women on a motorbike before crashing into the guardrail. Police and rescue workers are at the scene, and have yet to release the names and ages of those killed in the accident. Just two days ago, a 26-year-old woman succumbed to injuries sustained after a six-wheeled truck struck her…
-
Spike in Phuket seafood prices blamed on monsoon weather
PHUKET: An island official is attributing local fishermen’s unwillingness to go offshore and a resulting spike in seafood prices to monsoon-season sea conditions, rather than a reaction to recent, strict regulation changes to combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing practices. “This is not purely a protest. I have spoken to a lot of fishermen, and they have told me…
-
Russian fraud fugitive arrested in Rawai
PHUKET: A Russian fugitive hunted by Interpol for alleged fraud totaling 25 million baht was arrested in Rawai on June 10, according to The Nation, citing a press release, on Tuesday. Dmitrii Rodionov, 38, was brought in to a ‘conference’ in Bangkok along with five other alleged foreign criminals who had been arrested for a variety of different crimes, said…
-
Two thieves dash off with 400,000 baht
PHUKET: Two daring thieves got away with more than 400,000 baht in cash after kicking over a woman’s motorbike and grabbing her bag yesterday evening. Lt Wechasak Chuladoong of the Phuket City Police rushed to the scene after police were alerted of the hit-and-run attack on Jantana Seangdee, 37*, along Pracha Uthit Road in Koh Kaew at about 8pm. “The…
-
Patong Hill crash victim dies
PHUKET: One of the victims in an accident on Patong Hill yesterday has succumbed to her injuries, police confirmed to the Phuket Gazette this morning. Laksamiduean Sawadiraksa, 26, who was driving a motorbike in front of a six-wheeled truck when it lost control on the hill, sustained serious head injuries in the collision, and was pronounced dead after being rushed…
-
Alleged IUU captured in Phuket fined B51k
PHUKET: A fine of 51,000 baht was levied against the alleged illegal, unreported, unregulated (IUU) vessels that successfully fled the New Zealand and Australian navies with its cargo of Atlantic toothfish before being seized in Phuket earlier this year (story here). “Last month, the Customs Department in Bangkok fined the captain and South Service Co Ltd, which managed the cargo,…
-
Gold-fraud gang hit Phuket
PHUKET: A Kalasin man who pawned a fake gold necklace after his friend successfully swindled the same shop a day earlier has been arrested while his accomplices remain at large. Police received a call from Tongmaneemas gold shop, in Rassada, at about 11:45am yesterday reporting that someone had attempted to pawn a fake two-baht weight gold necklace with a genuine…
-
Police arrest Phuket murder suspect, one still at large
PHUKET: Police have arrested one of two suspects for the murder of the SuperCheap Soi Paniang branch manager yesterday. Nattapon Nukoon, 26, was stabbed to death in front of his house in Soi Paniang 3 half past midnight yesterday, said Phuket City Police Superintendent Col Kraithong Chanthongbai. “There was a knife stuck inside his right ear with his right arm…
-
Breaking News: Two seriously injured in Patong Hill crash
PHUKET: Two women on a motorbike have been rushed to Patong Hospital with serious injuries after a six-wheeled truck lost control on Patong Hill, rolled backward and crashed into them. Police and rescue workers rushed to the scene, at the bottom of the hill near Wat Suwan Khiriwong Temple, at about 12:30pm to find the two women on the ground…
-
Two Myanmar workers killed in truck crash
PHUKET: Two Myanmar construction workers were killed and seven others were seriously injured when the truck they were riding in crashed on Kamala Hill last night. The truck, which was carrying 40 workers from World Co Ltd, was travelling from Tri Trang Beach to a workers’ camp near the top of Kamala Hill at about 10:30pm when the driver lost…
-
Know Russia better with iPad app
PHUKET: Readers seeking a better understanding of modern day Russia know the importance of the English-language Russia Behind The Headlines (RBTH) journal, regularly found throughout Thailand in the Phuket Gazette and The Nation. Now, for those needing more information faster, the bounty of stories created by RBTH is available through a newly launched RBTH iPad app – available on the…
-
Video Report: Truck caught dumping near Nai Harn Beach
PHUKET: Island officials are looking for the owner of a truck who was caught dumping rubbish near Nai Harn Beach on June 6. The hunt began after PGTV sent a video clip to Rawai Mayor Aroon Solos that showed men in a pick-up truck unloading construction site refuse into what has quickly developed into an illegal dumping ground just 100…
-
Governor launches search for fake officers in Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong vowed yesterday to look into a complaint filed about alleged fraudsters entering homes under the guise of anti-human-trafficking officers. Amnuayporn Samneang, village headman of Srisoonthorn Moo 6, filed a formal complaint to Governor Nisit yesterday evening. “Mr Amnuayporn told us that two ‘anti-trafficking officers’ arrived at his home on June 29 and refused to present…
-
Olympians take “Road to Rio’ at Thanyapura
PHUKET: Twenty-five future Olympians began their ‘Road to Rio 2016’ at Thanyapura Phuket – the first Official Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA) Training Center in Southeast Asia. Thanyapura announced its official partnership with the aquatics international body FINA this week at a press conference attended by Tourism and Sports of Thailand Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul and Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong. Thanyapura…
-
Opinion: Fishing D-Day
PHUKET: It is too early to tell what the long-term ramifications of the recent crackdown on the Thai fishing industry will be, but there is no doubt that drastic change is needed to bring one of Thailand’s most notoriously rogue industries up to something approaching respectability by international standards. The fishing industry was overdue for an overhaul long before the…
-
Pirated goods vendors flee Kata-Karon shops
PHUKET: A number of shops managed to close before a police raid on pirated goods hit Kata and Karon yesterday. However, police were able to seize about 1,400 items and arrest one suspect. “We received a complaint that there were a lot of fake name-brand goods being sold in the area, so we decided to investigate,” Lt Col Pratheep Choosri…
-
Ao Nang erects multi-million-baht fish statue
PHUKET: A 5-million-baht bronze sculpture of a sailfish was erected at Ao Nang Beach on June 29. “We have been planning to build a sculpture in Ao Nang for about a decade, but could never find the funds in our budget to do so,” Ao Nang Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) President Pankum Kittithonkul told the Phuket Gazette. “We searched for…
-
Phuket fishing boats vow to remain ashore amid strict regulations
PHUKET: Commercial Phuket fishing boats have vowed to remain ashore rather than be netted by officials and charged for Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing practices. “We requested that the government relax the strict measures being enforced on us. However, they refused,” Somyos Wongbunyakul, president of the Phuket Fishing Association, told the Phuket Gazette. “The new regulations began on July…
-
Family continues search for legally dead Dane in Phuket
PHUKET: Soren Baisgaard is legally dead. The Danish government laid him to rest after he went missing in Phuket in 1999. However, a single phone call in 2011 in response to a notice issued in the Phuket Gazette by the Danish government reignited the hopes of his deserted wife and two daughters that he was in fact still alive 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.
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.