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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Kidnapped Russian leaves Phuket
PHUKET: The Russian kidnapping victim who was recovered alive, Iana Strizheus, caught a flight from Phuket back to Russia last night. “She has given her statement to police and been presented to the judge. Therefore, she is free to go home,” Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Arun Kaewvatee told the Phuket Gazette this morning. “This changes nothing for our investigation.”…
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10-year-old on life support after Phuket motorbike crash
PHUKET: A 10-year-old girl is unresponsive and on life support at Vachira Phuket Hospital after a motorbike accident on Thepkrasattri Road in Koh Kaew on Thursday. Rattanawadee Tukthin was returning home from Big C on a motorbike driven by her sister, Anjira Tukthin, 17, when the pair crashed into a utility pole. “Ms Anjira is recovering in hospital after receiving…
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Men fire on Phuket armored van transporting B10mn, then flee as van gives chase
PHUKET: Three suspects who opened fire on an armored van carrying 10 million baht yesterday afternoon were chased down by the van driver, but managed to escape. The van had left Tesco Lotus in Phuket Town and was northbound on Thepkrasattri Road, headed to refill ATMs in Bang Tao and at the Phuket International Airport when the men fired on…
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Rescuer recovering from fumes that killed Phuket sewer workers last week
PHUKET: The rescue worker who passed out while attempting to save four workers who died in a Phuket Town sewer on March 26 is recovering in the hospital and will be discharged in a week. Jessada Janpen, 25, was one of the first to arrive on the scene, and immediately descended into the sewer to rescue the maintenance workers. Although…
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Foreigners in Phuket: Dive shop blitz clarifies instructors’ work descriptions
PHUKET: Foreign dive instructors’ job descriptions were clarified during an inspection led by Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut in Patong today, as the Public-sector Anti Corruption Commission (PACC) investigates allegations that police were extorting money from them due to ambiguities in work permits (story here). “We only came to check work permits and clarify the information within them to the employees.…
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Phuket Marine Police volunteers’ numbers swell ahead of Songkran
PHUKET: The Phuket Marine Police have garnered 97 trained volunteers to bolster their ranks ahead of the Songkran Festival. “Boat captains, crews and tour guides were called to join in safety-training seminars and volunteer to support the Marine Police, as they are the ones who have the best chance of rescuing people in the water,” Phuket Marine Police Superintendent Pumin…
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Another Phuket workplace fatality: Shrimp farm worker found dead in boat
PHUKET: A Myanmar national was found dead this afternoon at the Sri Soonthorn shrimp farm where he worked, marking the fifth work-related death within two weeks in Phuket. The body of Nyi Paing, 25, was found on a boat in one of the farm’s ponds by a co-worker after he did not return from his morning work routine, Lt Col…
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Phuket Gazette sets record with 108-page issue
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette hit the newsstands with a resounding thump today with a record-breaking 108 pages. This week’s issue of the island’s leading English-language newspaper is packed with content, boasting the 32-page China Daily Asia Weekly, a world-class publication built in Hong Kong; the 16-page Russia Beyond The Headlines (RBTH), published by the renowned Moscow-based Rossiskaya Gazetta; and an…
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Phuket lifeguard president threatens to cut number of guards
PHUKET: The president of the island’s lifeguard club is threatening to slash the number of guards on Phuket beaches by 20 per cent, despite a 10 per cent increase in government funding. “We have yet to decide whether we will agree to the 22mn baht contract,” Phuket Lifeguard Club President Prathaiyut Chuayuan told the Phuket Gazette. “If we renew the…
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Two red cards in Phuket’s DNF We Freedive Suunto Series
PHUKET: The Dynamic Without Fins (DNF) event at the We Freedive Suunto Series saw two red cards as contestants pushed to cover as much horizontal distance as possible in the Association Internationale pour le Developpement de l’Apnee (AIDA) event. Malaysian champion Azam Hamid, who holds records in several other freediving disciplines, crossed the marker for the Malaysia National record at…
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Teenagers arrested for Phuket gang execution
PHUKET: Police have arrested nine gang members, including six juveniles, for the murder of a rival teenager who was gunned down and hacked to death in Rassada early yesterday morning. Lt Col Somsak Thongkliang of the Phuket City Police named the adult suspects as Kiat Phanthong, 21; Panumas Ladnalao, 19; and Warawoth Malsu, 18. “We are still searching for Saksit…
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Bandit betrays drug business buddy in Phuket
PHUKET: Police arrested an armed drug dealer in Pa Khlok this week after an inmate at Phuket Provincial Prison had his girlfriend spill the beans on the prisoner’s former business associate. Officers arrested Surasak Paewparn, 28, at the Promphan housing estate at about 7pm on Tuesday, said Lt Col Jarun Bangprasert of the Phuket Provincial Police. “Officers staked out the…
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Phuket cigarette vendor to receive new leg
PHUKET: The Prostheses Foundation of HRH The Princess Mother has approved a new prosthetic leg for Wilaiwan “Wan” Damnui, a Phuket cigarette vendor born with a deformed leg and no hands. “I was notified by the Prostheses Foundation of HRH The Princess Mother that Ms Wan would indeed receive a new, free prosthesis,” confirmed Pornsri Suthanaruk, Director of the Regional…
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US embassy consular outreach clinic coming to Phuket
PHUKET: The Consular Section of the American Embassy in Bangkok will hold an Outreach Visit at Le Meridien Hotel in Karon on April 30. Consular staff will be available from 8am to midday to provide the following services: • Passport renewal applications (US$110 or 3,410 baht for adult passports, US$105 or 3,255 baht for a minor’s passport). • Notarial Services…
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Phuket motorcyclist struck and killed picking up his bike after spill
PHUKET: A 19-year-old fell off his motorbike near Phuket International Airport early this morning and was hit by a car and killed while he was trying to right his bike. Rescuers responded to the call just after midnight and found the body of Atthaphon Prasobsaeng on Route 4026, which joins Thepkrasattri Road to the road to the airport. “The accident…
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Video Report: Phuket beach chair mogul pushes solutions to beach space battle
PHUKET: The Nai Harn Beach Chair Club president took to the sand on Saturday in an attempt to dissolve lingering tension between lounge chair operators and a group of expats after a conflict erupted on March 15 over shared beach space. Two weeks ago, during the “Clean the Beach Boot Camp” at Nai Harn Beach, a battle over space flared…
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Phuket top cop confident body found is of missing Russian
PHUKET: Provincial Police Commander Ong-art Phiewruangnont today said he is “80 per cent sure” that the decomposed body found on Saturday (story here) is that of missing Russian Alexey Slabinskiy. The skull had been separated from the body and was no longer identifiable, and police are seeking to identify the remains with DNA tests and through dental records. “We are…
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Thalang thrash Laguna in Phuket’s JLL League cricket
PHUKET: In the much anticipated JLL League match on March 30, the Thalang Cricket Team defeated Laguna by 90 runs and now have an insurmountable lead in the Jones Lang LaSalle League points championship. Laguna, last year’s champions, haven’t been beaten in a JLL league match in the past two seasons but had no answers to Thalang in this match.…
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Kidnapping of Phuket boy, 4, foiled at bus terminal
PHUKET: Quick action by a Phuket village headman last night stopped a couple about to board a bus to Bangkok with a 4-year-old boy who had been abducted from his home in Koh Kaew. Worried parents of the boy, named by police only as “Nong Ice”, reported their son missing from their home in Koh Kaew Soi 10 at about…
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Phuket Poll: How good is Phuket Airport?
PHUKET: First impressions are critical in how people remember their holidays, and officials at Phuket International Airport are hoping that 12 million travellers judge their facility favorably this year. The sole runway and the main terminal cater to about 210 flights and 32,000 passengers per day. The main terminal can support up to 2,400 passengers per hour, but rush periods…
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Officers to inspect all Phuket dive shops, instructors as part of police extortion probe
PHUKET: Extortion charges against the Chalong Police have led to a proposed inspection of every dive company and working instructor in Phuket. Groups led by Phuket Employment Office staff will check the work permits of all 190 dive instructors working at the 114 dive companies on the island, Governor Maitri Inthusut said today. The immigration documents of customers will also…
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Governor pushes for black water solution after Karon Beach water runs foul again [video]
PHUKET: The Phuket governor was on-site yesterday when a fresh flow of black water washed into the sea at Karon Beach. Governor Maitri Inthusut happened to be on location to lead an investigation into black water and lines of trash that plagued the beach on Friday (story here). The governor denied that wastewater was the cause of the black water…
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Phuket fishermen discover body of executed man
PHUKET: Fishermen discovered the body of a man who had been executed floating near the main fishing port in Rassada in Phuket earlier this morning. “We believe the body is that of a Myanmar national who worked on a fishing boat. He most likely got in a fight with other crew members, was killed and then thrown overboard,” said Lt…
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After fatal building collapse, officials reassure that Phuket underpass is safe
PHUKET: Phuket Highways Office Director Samak Luedwonghad has called for confidence in the construction of the island’s first underpass in the wake of a fatal building collapse which killed 10 people in Samut Prakarn last month. The Phuket underpass, on the bypass road near the Central Festival Phuket shopping mall, is under construction by the same developer involved in the…
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![ITF Seniors Tennis Tour comes to Thanyapura [Video] | Thaiger](data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0naHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmcnIHZpZXdCb3g9JzAgMCAzMjMgMjIwJz48L3N2Zz4=)
ITF Seniors Tennis Tour comes to Thanyapura [Video]
PHUKET: Thanyapura Phuket says it is honored to be hosting its very first International Tennis Federation (ITF) seniors event next week, with play taking place from Monday, April 7 to Saturday, April 12. Careful not to let the word “Seniors” lead you to imagine elderly people with walking canes donning their tennis whites for a friendly rally. The six days…
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Action stunt leaves fleeing Phuket thief with broken neck
PHUKET: A man broke his neck after falling from the fourth floor of a Phuket apartment building while trying to escape two women who caught him red-handed stealing from their room. Patong Police were notified at about 1pm yesterday that 32-year-old Mongkolchai Na-Tawan had fallen after trying to jump from a fourth-floor room in one apartment building into another room…
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Chief medical inspector counters CBC’s Belanger sisters’ death report
PHUKET: The chief medical inspector called in to investigate the mysterious deaths of Canadian sisters Noemi and Audrey Belanger on Phi Phi Island in 2012 has dismissed reports that said the sisters died from poisoning from a specific pesticide. The news follows a report by Canadian news network CBC quoting Dr Pasakorn Akarasewi as saying, “The most likely explanation is…
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Phuket Countdown to confusion
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette has learned that Phuket has been named as the pilot province for a nationwide project that will eventually see all “countdown” traffic lights retrofitted to show Thai numerals instead of the more popular Arabic numbers currently used in most countries, including Thailand. Deadline for completion of the 187-million-baht Phuket project is October 15. The move is…
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Russian withdrawal: Chinese tourist scammed out of B400,000
PHUKET: A Chinese tourist issued a warning to other Phuket visitors of skimmer gangs after thieves in Russia withdrew 400,000 baht from his account. “On March 24, my bank called to ask me where I was, because my account showed several withdrawals in Russia between March 22 and 24,” said Haohao Sun. “At the time the 400,000 baht was taken…
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Body of Russian expat, kidnapped in Phuket, believed found
PHUKET: Police have found a body they believe is that of missing Russian expat Alexey Slabinskiy, first reported as suspected of being kidnapped three weeks ago (story here). “We learned that the suspects – Russians Oleksandr Boychuk, 44, and Aleksandr Novichkov, 58 – had rented a house in Soi Koktanode in Cherng Talay,” Provincial Police Commander Ong-art Phiwruangnont told the…
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![ITF Seniors Tennis Tour comes to Thanyapura [Video] | Thaiger](https://thethaiger.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/4_2014331145749484_MmQxkCRiBTKMnJzkTdKosqlpQkoWjPkzGCrRIePS_jpeg.jpeg)
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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