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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Video Report: Phuket tsunami drill hailed as a success
PHUKET: A total of about 200 emergency-response officers and locals joined the full-scale tsunami evacuation drill at Koh Sireh, eastern coast of Phuket, on Tuesday. “Every department handled the rescue role-playing situations very well and acted appropriately. However, the locals seemed to be more uncomfortable, as this was their first time,” said Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong. The drill simulated a…
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Fire on Patong’s Soi Bangla guts hotel room
PHUKET: Tourists on Soi Bangla panicked after a hotel room along the popular party road burst into flames last night. Three fire trucks spent about 20 minutes dousing the flames coming from a fourth-floor rental room above Rico’s Restaurant*. No one was injured in the incident, confirmed police. However, the blaze completely destroyed the room and its contents, causing an…
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No resolution on horizon for Phuket lifeguard conundrum
PHUKET: There is no solution in sight for the Phuket lifeguard contract conundrum, which leaves the island’s beaches without essential life-saving services as the annual southwest monsoon season stirs up dangerous seas on the west coast, confirmed officials to the Phuket Gazette yesterday. However, the president of the Phuket Lifeguard Club (PLC) proposed two solutions. “One option would be for…
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Rohingya “help-on’ policy announced in Phuket
PHUKET: Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan explained to the press in Phuket that Thailand would be proceeding with a clear ‘help-on’ policy when dealing with Rohingya and Bangladeshi entering the country. “We will never push away these people. However, if they do land in Thailand they will have to face the same laws that apply to anyone illegally entering…
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Lifeguards return to Phuket beaches tomorrow
PHUKET: After almost two months and a number of deaths at Phuket’s beaches, lifeguards will resume their posts tomorrow. Guards left the sands at sunset on March 26 and returned their equipment to the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization, following what has become an annual contract debacle. At that point no company, including the Phuket Lifeguard Club (PLC) had stepped forward…
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Family feud leads to fatal Phuket fruit vendor shooting
PHUKET: A gunman who shot his fruit-selling aunt in the head in Phuket Town turned himself into police yesterday. Santipap Kosuk, 28, surrendered to Phuket City Police following the fatal shooting of his 46-year-old aunt, Sriroong Kosuk, yesterday. Mr Santipap stashed his homemade gun and ammunition in a shoe box near Surakul Stadium before he called his father and asked…
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Video Report: Superyacht charter licence floated by Marine Dept
PHUKET: Standardized criteria for foreign-flagged superyacht chartering licences, which are designed to move Phuket and Thailand toward the goal of becoming the regional maritime hub, will be finalized by the end of the month, it was announced last week. The current issuance of such licences is subjective and dealt with case by case, explained Marine Department Director-General Chula Sukmanop. “We…
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Woman killed crossing Phuket road
PHUKET: A 78-year-old woman was killed by a pick-up truck as she attempted to cross Phuket’s busy Thepkasattri Road yesterday. Sian Phetlamul had just disembarked from a local songtaew after visiting relatives and was crossing the road on her way home, her relatives told police. “The truck driver, 27-year-old Sutjaiai Sriphut, was driving from Phuket Town with his mother-in-law to…
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Ghost boat of starving Rohingya recovered, replenished, returned to sea
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy secured a ghost boat full of Rohingya refugees that was adrift off the west side Koh Lipe, south of Phuket, on Thursday. The captain and crew had abandoned the vessel, leaving it to drift in the Andaman. “The ship had more than 300 starving people on board, including women and children. Since they The Royal…
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Unidentified body found floating off Koh Khai
PHUKET: Kusoldham Foundation rescue workers recovered the body of an unidentified man yesterday afternoon, found floating off the coast of Koh Khai, 20km east of Phuket. “We are unable to identify the nationality of the man, but we believe he was 30 to 40 years old and was approximately 160 to 170 centimeters in height,” Lt Col Panya Chaichana of…
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Swiss national killed in Phuket car crash
PHUKET: A Swiss national was killed in a car crash on Kata Hill early this morning. Gaetano Pensovecchio, 39, was removed from his pick-up truck and rushed to Vachira Phuket Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. “The pick-up truck being driven by Mr Pensovecchio was ascending Kata Hill toward Chalong when it collided with a six-wheeled truck,” explained Lt…
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Video Report: Special task force created to combat IUUs
PHUKET: A ‘Special Navy Team’ was put into action in Phuket last week to combat the severe economic and ecological damage caused by illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing vessels (IUU) that are taking advantage of legal loop holes and poor enforcement in the region. The joint task force will be operating 12 boats and one helicopter, as they attempt to…
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Chalong songtaew turf war goes nowhere
PHUKET: Two songtaew operators were called to a meeting at Chalong Police Station on Thursday after the Chalong-Phuket Town operator filed a complaint against the Kata-Karon-Phuket Town service for breaking an agreement regarding pick-up points. Somchai Kongsamret, a representative from the Chalong-Phuket Town songtaew co-operative, told the police that the Kata-Karon-Phuket Town songtaew had been picking up passengers where they…
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One killed, 31 injured in Krabi bus crash
PHUKET: A bus en route from Phuket to Narathiwat flipped on a wet road in Krabi last night, killing one passenger and injuring 31 others. The body of 26-year-old Marina Sama-ae, a nurse from Narathiwat, was trapped inside the bus when police arrived just after midnight, said Capt Prasan Khongkaew of the Ao Luek Police. “The bus was turned over…
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Finnish man killed in Phuket
PHUKET: A Finnish man was hit by a car and killed while crossing Patak Road near Chalong Circle early this morning. A damaged Honda CRV was parked in the road, and the body of a 26-year-old man, named by police as Joonas Hotti, was found nearby when police and rescue workers arrived at the scene. “The Honda driver was heading…
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No Rohingya holding center for Phuket, says Gov
PHUKET: Top Phuket and Navy officials have voiced support for the government’s move to find islands on which migrants, Rohingya and otherwise, can stop over on their way to their destination. However, they expressed concern about Phuket and islands which are part of Thailand’s National Marine Parks system being used as stop-over points. The move follows an order from Prime…
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Woman dies in car crash on slippery Krabi road
PHUKET: A woman died yesterday when she lost control of her pick-up truck on a wet road in Krabi and slammed into a pole. Police arrived at the scene on Petchkasem Road in Khlong Thom district at about 10am to find a pick-up truck wrapped around a sign pole in the median of the road. “Phonphan Khongyot, 31, died instantly…
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BISP swim team racks up records, 2016 Summer Olympics qualifiers
PHUKET: When the JSA Swim Academy at British International School Phuket first took to the pool in August 2013, the team had five international swimmers on scholarship, four swimmers from the school’s Flying Fish club team and high hopes. During the August to December 2014 swim season, the team’s nine swimmers (five girls and four boys) competed in the Thailand…
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106 suspected Rohingya found on Koh Ree, northwest of Phuket
PHUKET: More than 100 suspected Rohingya were found last night on Koh Ree in Mu Koh Surin National Marine Park, northwest of Phuket. The group – consisting of 89 men, 15 women and two children – was searching for food in the sea when they were spotted by local sea gypsies, who then notified park officers. “Yesterday evening I received…
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Marine officials clamp down on IUU fishing in Phuket
PHUKET: Local maritime officers and fishing operators gathered yesterday to discuss measures launched to shut down illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities in the region. The push for solutions follows the EU putting Thailand on formal notice on April 21 for not taking sufficient measures in the international fight against IUUs (story here). Thailand was given six months to…
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Bikers baffled by nails scattered in bicycle lane
PHUKET: Island officials are searching for the culprit – or culprits – who left more than 100 nails in the bicycle lane at Saphan Hin, resulting in three punctured bicycle tires this week. A group of cyclists noticed the scattered nails when one of their bikes’ tires deflated while the group was riding on the path on Tuesday. “We didn’t…
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Video Report: Malaysian top cop vows to co-operate with Thai police in human-trafficking investigation
PHUKET: Malaysia’s top cop has agreed to fully co-operate with the Royal Thai Police in hunting down and arresting human-trafficking bigwigs who are believed to have fled to Malaysia. “We believe that there are several suspects wanted for human trafficking who are hiding in Malaysia,” said Royal Thai Police Commissioner-General Somyot Poompanmoung at the 23rd annual Departmental Review of Joint…
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Phuket lifeguards to sign new contract
PHUKET: The Phuket Lifeguard Club (PLC) will sign a new contract tomorrow and lifeguards are expected to return to Phuket’s beaches by next Wednesday, just as the southwest monsoon season and corresponding dangerous sea conditions take hold. This year, the contract stipulates that there will be a total of 95 employees: 83 lifeguards, nine chief lifeguards and three managers. There…
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Phuket lucky licence plate auction next weekend
PHUKET: The Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) is hoping to raise more than 20 million baht from this year’s Lucky Licence Plate Auction, which will be held in Phuket Town next weekend. The two-day event at the Phuket Merlin Hotel will begin on May 23 at 9am, with 301 licence plates to go to the highest bidders. All licence plates…
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Enormous king cobra caught creeping into Phuket hotel
PHUKET: A four-meter-long king cobra was wrangled into submission by rescue workers as it tried to sneak into a Phuket hotel room last night. Saiyan Thamaphan, chief of the Phuket Ruamjai Rescue Foundation, and his team arrived at Star of Phuket Resort to find panicked tourists and locals gathered outside. “We found the king cobra trying to gain access to…
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Phuket youth football team wins international championship
PHUKET: Four teams from Cruzeiro Football Academy at British International School Phuket (BISP) brought home gold, silver, bronze and shield medals from the Bangkok International Youth Football Festival 2015, held on April 25-26. Head Coach Jonathas Candido said the Under-11 team earned championship gold, the U9 squad struck silver, the academy’s U15 team garnered bronze and the U13’s took shield.…
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Senior Bangkok official dies from Krabi hot spring splash
PHUKET: A senior official at the Attorney-General’s Office in Bangkok was pronounced dead on April 30 after a leap into a Krabi hot spring left him in a coma a few weeks earlier. Somkiat Phatkhun, the deputy director of the Training and Development Institute at the Office of the Attorney General in Bangkok, was on vacation with his wife when…
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Government vows to revisit Koh Kaew canal dredging project
PHUKET: The Marine Department director-general has vowed to renew efforts to find the best solution to the congested Koh Kaew canal, which links two of Phuket’s prominent marinas to Phang Nga Bay. The extension of the Koh Kaew canal, which leads to Royal Phuket Marina and the Boat Lagoon, was reported as being completed on December 28, 2014, allowing easier…
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Man dies, son in ICU after fainting in Krabi well
PHUKET: A man died and his son is in Krabi Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after the two fainted while digging a groundwater well in Krabi. Prapan Chaikhao, 59, and his son, Somnuek Chaikhao, 38, were hired to deepen the 1-meter-wide, 7-meter-deep well because it had dried up, local villagers told police. “The two went down together to dig, while…
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Summons issued for dangerous Phuket driver
PHUKET: The Phuket City Police are demanding that the owner of a black Fortuner SUV, whose vehicle was captured on video being driven recklessly, endangering other drivers, present himself to police. The video clearly shows the Fortuner cutting off two men on a motorbike in heavy traffic as it merges onto the bypass road from Yaowarat Road, and then coming…
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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