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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Ronins shot down by Air Force Central
PHUKET: The island’s Phuket FC is looking to rebuild their confidence after their 2-0 loss away to Air Force Central (AFC) FC on April 8. AFC supporters had to wait until only the 19th minute to roar with delight as the Bangkok squad’s Nigerian midfielder Julius Obioh slotted the ball into the net after receiving a superb cross from fellow…
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Phuket readies for Gran Fondo road race
PHUKET: About 150 riders will take to the streets of Phuket this Sunday for the Thanyapura Gran Fondo, a 120km bicycle road race to be headed by Tour de France green jersey winner Baden Cooke. “Among the cyclists travelling to Phuket to join the major event are the women’s bike team W2 from Bangkok and lots of Phuket cyclists as…
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Phuket lifeguards back on beaches “within a week’
PHUKET: Lifeguards are expected to be back on duty at Phuket’s beaches within the coming week, the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) has announced. The news follows Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong yesterday signing his approval for the PPAO to expedite the process of hiring lifeguards by directly negotiating with the Phuket Lifeguard Club (PLC). “I signed my approval as soon…
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Ex-husband, friends wanted by police after gun threat
PHUKET: Police are searching for a man and at least two others after he threatened his ex-wife and their family with a gun in front of their home in Phuket Town on Wednesday night. Phuket City Police rushed to the scene at about 7:45pm after receiving reports of shots fired in Srisuthat Soi 4, Maj Rachan Panwai of Phuket City…
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D-Day for Surin Beach businesses swiftly approaches
PHUKET: The deadline for 39 Surin Beach businesses, including several iconic beach clubs, to appeal eviction notices handed down by the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) is swiftly approaching, confirmed Cherng Talay OrBorTor President Ma-ann Samran. “The deadline to appeal to the Administrative Court is Saturday. We will be going to Surin Beach on Monday to find out whether…
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No Phuket deaths recorded for Songkran Seven Days of Danger campaign
PHUKET: Phuket ended the national Seven Days of Danger road-safety campaign for the Songkran New Year festival with no fatalities to report. The campaign drew to a close at midnight last night with a final tally of zero road deaths and 58 injuries during the week-long holiday, reported the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) Phuket office. Last year,…
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Officials ramp up search for missing American diver
PHUKET: Officials ramped up their search yesterday for an American diver who went missing from a Similans-bound liveaboard on April 11. Joshua Michael Devine, 36, a civilian IT operative working at a United States military base in Kuwait, was on the CRP Transport diving trip with his Thai wife, Thadsana, and 22 other divers (story here). The Phuket Marine Police…
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Phuket bomb fears disarmed by wet clothes
PHUKET: Fears that an abandoned bag might contain a bomb sent an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit and Wichit Police racing to Sriphuwanart Public Park on Pattana Thongthin Road in Wichit on Tuesday evening. “Wichit Police informed us that they had received a call from locals who had seen a bag that looked like a bomb, so we immediately went…
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Drunk drivers targeted as Phuket police relax enforcement on Songkran bans
PHUKET: Police in Phuket targeted drunk drivers, arresting hundreds of people driving under the influence yesterday, while relaxing their efforts to enforce other banned Songkran activities, the Phuket Gazette was told today. Prior to yesterday’s celebrations, a nationwide ban that Phuket police said that they would be strictly enforcing was put on sexy outfits, sexy dancing and rolling water-fight trucks.…
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Alleged Phuket tour fraudster a no show – arrest warrant issued
PHUKET: An arrest warrant has been issued for a man who is wanted for allegedly defrauding a Phuket tour company of about 1.5 million baht. The warrant for Peerapat ‘Deer’ Singhon, 25, was issued after the alleged fraudster failed to present himself to police on April 7. “As Mr Peerapat failed to present himself in accordance with the police summons,…
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No deaths on day five of Phuket’s Seven Days of Danger
PHUKET: The island escaped another day in the Seven Days of Danger road-safety campaign without a single death yesterday. By the end of day five, at midnight last night, 49 people had been injured in a total of 48 road accidents, according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket office (DDPM-Phuket), which collates all road accident statistics in…
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Three killed in Krabi palm plantation stabbing
PHUKET: Krabi police are hunting two men wanted for the stabbing murders of three men in a palm plantation in Nuea Khlong early this morning. “We were notified of the attack just after midnight,” said Nuea Khlong Police Superintendent Taksin Phochakorn. “Four men found at the scene had serious stab wounds – three died en route to hospital.” Police are…
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Changing winds: Minister puts weight behind changes to boost marine tourism
PHUKET: A special task force has been formed to come up with viable suggestions for changes to visas and yacht-charter regulations to help boost marine tourism in Phuket, with a working deadline for rolling out the changes by 2016. “The task force comprises officials from relevant government agencies, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Tourism and Sports and…
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Myanmar worker hospitalized following electrical leakage
PHUKET: A Myanmar worker was injured by an electrical shock from a metal wall divider inside a Phuket worker camp in Cherng Talay yesterday. The 28-year-old man, named only as ‘Mr Ao’, was taken to Thalang Hospital by Kusoldharm rescue workers following the accident. “He was at his place when he touched a metal sheet that we used to separate…
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Zero road deaths as Phuket enters day five of ‘Seven Days of Danger’
PHUKET: The island has made it more than halfway through the nationwide ‘Seven Days of Danger’ road-safety campaign for Songkran without a single death. By the end of day four, at midnight last night, there were 34 people injured in a total of 33 road accidents, according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket office (DDPM-Phuket), which collates…
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Phuket bus terminal eviction order for taxis put on ice
PHUKET: An eviction order to move taxi drivers from Phuket’s main bus terminal in Rassada has been put on ice until after the Songkran holiday, a vice governor has confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. The news follows a meeting chaired by Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosutthriak on April 8 in response to a request lodged by 30 taxi drivers for intervention…
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Fishing boat explosion leaves seven crew seriously injured
PHUKET: Seven Myanmar fishermen were seriously injured after a battery allegedly exploded, sparking a fire inside their fishing boat off the coast of Phang Nga early this morning. One of the Myanmar nationals, whose name was withheld by hospital staff, is in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Vachira Phuket Hospital after he sustained severe burns to his entire body,…
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Shocked Danish tourist allegedly pushed from dive boat after hit-and-run accident
PHUKET: Marine Police are waiting at Chalong Pier for the arrival of a dive boat that allegedly hit a sailboat and fled after throwing one of the Danish crew members seeking the safety of the dive boat into the water. “Everyone was screaming. I realized that we hit the boat, and my friend fell into the water,” 21-year-old Jens Ole…
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Krabi officials launch tourist boat-safety inspections following deadly ferry fire
PHUKET: Krabi officials are launching a series boat-safety inspections, starting today, to ensure that all tourist boats are safe for use during the long Songkran holiday. “The checks will run until Wednesday. Uniformed officers will be stationed at popular tourism spots to inspect the boats and help tourists,” said Maj Anurak Parinyasathiragul of the Krabi Marine Police. “We will have…
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F1: Tilke, tyres, temperatures and tricks
PHUKET: Well, my Melbourne forecast was spot on, and my Sepang forecast was not. Ferrari, which I thought would have problems staying ahead of Williams, stayed ahead of the field. That raises a few questions. Has Ferrari sufficiently improved to take Mercedes to the checkered flag in Abu Dhabi? If it does, I intend to be there. However, I am…
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Video Report: Goldie, Eka take stage tonight for Music is My Life at Xana
PHUKET: World renowned, British DJ Goldie is joining forces with Number One Hit Canadian soul artist Eka for the charity jam ‘Music is My Life’ at Xana Beach Club on tonight, starting at 9pm and running late. The show is a tribute to passionate underground Phuket DJ Josh Ezelle, who died in a motorbike crash last year on his way…
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Pre-Songkran road-safety blitz nets bus driver on drugs
PHUKET: A bus driver was fined for driving under the influence today during a Songkran road-safety blitz at the bottom of Patong Hill in Kathu. Thung Thong Police and the Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) set up a checkpoint from 9am-11am to randomly check vehicles passing through, said Jaturong Kaewkasi, the chief policy adviser at PLTO. One bus driver, who…
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Phuket Immigration, other government offices to close for Songkran
PHUKET: The Phuket Immigration Office, as well as other government offices on the island, will be closed starting tomorrow in celebration of the Songkran holiday. Doors will re-open on April 16, confirmed Phuket Immigration Chief Sunchai Chokkajaykij. “Our office and the Patong Immigration Office will both be closed for five days, starting tomorrow,” he told the Phuket Gazette today. “Any…
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Survivors of Phuket ferry inferno start flying home
PHUKET: Ten of the tourists who survived the lethal ferry blaze that killed 12-year-old Israeli girl Shani Manil on Wednesday (story here) have flown home, police confirmed. “The 10 people who flew out of Phuket yesterday said that they needed to get back home,” said Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Samarn Chainarong. “We have their statements already, so there was…
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Phuket Bike Week riders mount up for charity (video)
PHUKET: Riders joining the Phuket Bike Week 2015 festivities, which get underway at Loma Park in Patong today have their hearts and their helmets set on doing more than just showing off the best motorbikes in the region. Among the activities this year is a mass release of sea animals at the Royal Thai Navy base at Cape Panwa to…
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Body of man found floating off Phuket
PHUKET: Police are attempting to identify a man whose body was found floating offshore from Layan Beach, on Phuket’s west coast, this morning. Passing fishermen spotted the body about 13 nautical miles from Koh Kata, the small island immediately offshore from Layan Beach, at about 9:30am. Rescue workers from the Kusoldharm Foundation and the Cherng Talay Administration Organization (OrBorTor) recovered…
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British, Australian expats arrested for ATM card fraud
PHUKET: An Australian and a British expat have been arrested for using data from skimmed ATM cards to withdraw cash in Phuket. British national Jamie Steven McKee, 31, and Australian Darrin John Williams, 48, were arrested near Karon Circle on Wednesday night after police received a tip-off. “Our officers identified the men from the description given, and approached them at…
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Shotgun, drugs seized in pre-Songkran raids
PHUKET: Patong Police arrested seven suspects in possession of an illegal weapon and drugs yesterday as part of a series of raids to be carried out through the Songkran holiday. Police first arrested Songchai Warisayakorn, 37, at his rental room in Patong, after being tipped off by nearby locals. “We found a Remington shotgun and a 9mm Glock pistol, as…
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Hungarian dope smuggler arrested in Phuket
PHUKET: Hungarian national Kocsis Szabolcs Laszlo, 41, was presented to the press in Bangkok by Immigration Bureau commissioner Sakda Chuenpakdee yesterday after his arrest in Phuket on March 15. Mr Laszlo was wanted for allegedly smuggling 35 kilograms of marijuana from the Netherlands to Hungary on seven occasions, Lt Gen Sakda explained. The Immigration Commissioner said that police had arrested…
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Phuket’s “death lagoon’ roped off for Songkran safety
PHUKET: As the busy Thai New Year Songkran holidays approach this weekend, Rawai Municipality has installed floating markers to rope off the beach side of the sluice gate at Phuket’s Nai Harn Lagoon. The estuary is subject to strong tidal flows between the lagoon and the sea, which trapped and drowned 9-year-old Sarun Srisongkram on March 30 (story here). “Swimmers…
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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