Phuket News
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Phuket Governor makes clean beaches priority
PHUKET: Governor Nisit Chansomwong got on the clean-Phuket bandwagon, as he led locals, students and officials onto Patong Beach for “Beach Cleaning Day” on Sunday. “This activity is organized to strengthen the love and unity of the people within the community; help them develop a love for their hometown; help them keep it clean; and preserve our natural resources and…
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Triple homicide: suspect flees into jungle north of Phuket
PHUKET: Police in Phang Nga, north of Phuket, are hunting a man who killed his estranged wife and her parents after he was allegedly denied entry into their house. The bodies of Piyawan Jankerdkaew, 28; Prakob Jankerdkaew, 54; and Vas Jankerdkaew, 59, were found with gunshot wounds to the head yesterday afternoon in Kura Buri, Phang Nga. “We were called…
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Angry mob prevents suspected hired assassin from reenacting Phuket stabbing
PHUKET: An angry mob of villagers yesterday prevented police from carrying out a full reenactment of the stabbing murder of a woman by a suspected hired assassin in Phuket earlier this year. “Chatchai Torkeaw, 25, was apprehended on Saturday after he successfully evaded arrest for almost six months,” Thalang Police Superintendent Sirisak Wasasiri told the Phuket Gazette. He was arrested…
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Phuket missing teen turns up safe in Udon Thani
PHUKET: Kanyarat “Nong Chor” Kananthai, who was last seen selling her gold necklace in Phuket on Sunday, has turned up safe and sound in Udon Thani. “At about 3pm yesterday, one of my relatives in Udon Thani called me to say that Nong Chor had arrived at her place. I am so relieved that she is okay,” said Ms Kanyarat’s…
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Three Phuket tourists tumble, mayor aims to increase safety at Promthep Cape
PHUKET: Officials are considering more options to boost safety at Phuket’s iconic Promthep Cape after three tourists – two Chinese and one Thai – slipped from the rocks this weekend. However, building a protective fence remains off the table. “During the [southwest] monsoon season, there is a lot of rain and the waves are high. These conditions make it easy…
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![Bag blamed for Phuket speedboat crash [video] | Thaiger](https://thethaiger.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/1_20141020155410156_phZhNdentSZaAwzjoLKfPqkkTpWWdCjhUIWWveIU_jpeg.jpeg)
Bag blamed for Phuket speedboat crash [video]
PHUKET: The speedboat driver who crashed into a fishing trawler yesterday has blamed a plastic bag for the accident. The Seastar speedboat sank after hitting the trawler, leaving 35 injured and two missing (story here). “About 20 minutes after we departed from Maya Bay [on Koh Phi Phi] the sky got very dark and a black plastic bag flew under…
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Video Report: Patong’s first mayor cremated, honored by Royal Household Bureau
PHUKET: Patong’s first mayor, Pian Keesin, was cremated at Wat Laem Singh in Phuket on Saturday. Mr Pian died from a heart-valve disease in his home at the Rock Garden housing estate on October 7 at the age of 70. A fai prachataan provided by the Royal Household Bureau was used to ignite the cremation pyre in recognition of Mr…
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Video Report: Search continues for missing tourists after devastating Phuket speedboat crash
PHUKET: The search continues for two tourists who went missing after their speedboat crashed into a fishing trawler about 11 kilometers from Koh Yao Noi, east of Phuket, at about 5:30pm yesterday. The Navy renewed its search for the male and female Korean, who rescuers were unable to recover after the crash, by boat and helicopter at 8am today. However,…
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Teen goes missing after selling gold in Phuket
PHUKET: A relative of a 16-year-old girl has made a public plea for help in finding the teen, who went missing yesterday. Kanyarat “Nong Chor” Kananthai was last seen at 11am in Kathu selling her gold necklace for 4,300 baht to a shop near her house. “Nong Chor came from Udon Thai province with our grandmother about two months ago…
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Breaking News: Two missing, 35 injured in Phuket speedboat crash
PHUKET: Two tourists are missing after a speedboat crashed with a fishing boat between Koh Yao Noi and Phi Phi Island, east of Phuket, this afternoon. Marine Police have rescued 35 of the 37 tourists who were on board the speedboat. All suffered varying degrees of injury, it was confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. Rescue workers and hospital staff, prepared…
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Jet-skis allowed on Kamala Beach, confirms Phuket Governor
PHUKET: Jet-ski operators are allowed to park their craft on Kamala Beach until the end of the month, confirmed Governor Nisit Jansomwong to the Phuket Gazette today. Watchara Koysakul, head of the Kamala Jet-Ski Club, said that it was a similar situation to the one in Patong, where jet-ski operators were allowed to return to work in August as long…
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Another one bites the dust: illegal building removed from Phuket beach
PHUKET: One illegal building was removed from Phuket’s Nai Yang Beach by officials yesterday. Daeng Lawlang, the owner of the illegal building, was ordered to remove it by October 16. Though Mr Daeng has a Sor Kor 1 land title for about two rai of beachfront property, the building and some smaller structures were constructed beyond his property boundaries. “The…
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Phuket police raid rounds up pirated goods
PHUKET: About 1,500 fake brand-name items were seized from three shops in Patong on Thursday. “The retail value of the counterfeit goods is about 1 million baht,” said Kitti Sapaothong, deputy commander of the Economic Crime Division of the Royal Thai Police. The majority of the items seized were polo shirts. However, bags, purses, luggage, watches and other items were…
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Phuket loses an ‘original’ expat: Eric Snyder departs
PHUKET: Well known long-term Phuket expat Eric Snyder, 70, has departed the island he loved, succumbing to skin cancer earlier this week. Eric Snyder arrived in Phuket in 1975 and remained in residence here for 39 years. Initially, he lived with a Muslim family on Kamala Beach for several years, growing his own food and catching his dinner from the…
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Six elephants “unsmuggled’ from Phuket
PHUKET: Six illegally-imported elephants were rushed out of Noparat Elephant Camp and off Phuket late last night. The pachyderm push-out came ahead of a Phuket Livestock Office raid this morning. “We confirmed that the elephants were removed from the island and taken to Krabi province. The owner has secured a permit allowing them to stay there,” Phuket Livestock Chief Weerasit…
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Annual Patong carnival to hit sands of Phuket
PHUKET: Patong’s annual carnival, this year themed “Blissful Beach @ Patong”, is set to hit the beach town’s sands on November 1, ahead of Phuket’s tourism high season. The event, now in its 29th year, will take place from November 1-3, and aims to attract locals and tourists alike with concerts, a mini-marathon, a photography contest (story here) and a…
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Unattended candles set Phuket house on fire
PHUKET: A Phuket homeowner issued a warning about leaving candles unattended after his house was set on fire today by candles left burning for a personal Chinese shrine. No one was injured in the blaze. However, an estimated 100,000 baht of damage was done, Lt Col Sanit Nookong of the Thalang Police told the Phuket Gazette. “My wife, children and…
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![Phuket shrines gear up for second Vegetarian Festival [video] | Thaiger](https://thethaiger.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/1_20141017141919195_ELEXiNtvckmkGqsBLOOoSVEQDPSqWSPgkgCWLFBu_jpeg.jpeg)
Phuket shrines gear up for second Vegetarian Festival [video]
A much-anticipated aspect of the Vegetarian Festival is the bountiful array of interesting foods. PHUKET: Kathu Shrine is preparing to hold the second go-round of Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival from October 24 to November 1. Governor Nisit Jansomwong has urged all island-dwellers to take part in this special event, as a few shrines on the island are expected to hold even…
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Prisoner kingpin implicated in Phuket drug-network raids
PHUKET: The kingpin of a major drug ring operating out of a Thai prison was identified after a series of raids in Phuket, police said yesterday. The raids, which began on Sunday, saw more than 2 kilograms of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) seized. “The major dealers arrested implicated a female inmate, who we will name only as ‘Ms B’ until…
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Russian man who disappeared into sea found drowned in Phuket
PHUKET: The body of a Russian man who walked into the sea and disappeared on Wednesday night after an argument with his girlfriend was discovered this morning. “We were alerted by a local that a body was found floating between Freedom Beach and Paradise Beach at about 9am,” Sampawat Wannasangkam of the Patong Municipality Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation…
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Phuket Governor wants English speaker to assist foreigners filing complaints
PHUKET: In order to cope with the increasing number of complaints made to Phuket authorities by foreigners, Governor Nisit Jansomwong is looking to hire an English speaker to assist staff at the island’s Damrongtham Center (ombudsman’s office). The Damrongtham Center was established to provide advice and information for people – both Thai and foreigners – about any issue they might…
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Man caught peeping in Phuket restroom to fuel sexual fantasies
PHUKET: A Myanmar national has confessed to watching women use a public restroom to fuel his sexual fantasies. The 18-year-old, named by police only as “Mr Joe”, was caught looking through a crack in the wall of the bathroom at Star Wash car care yesterday afternoon. “I saw his eyes watching me through the crack while I was using the…
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Russian man walks into Phuket sea, presumed drowned
PHUKET: Rescue workers have given up a search for a Russian man last seen walking into the sea after a fight with his girlfriend in Phuket. “We saw four people – two men and two women – walking on the beach. They all looked drunk,” said eyewitness Apirat Chanpradab. “They sat down, then after about 30 minutes one of the…
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Chalong Bay Marina shut down for one year
PHUKET: Boats will be prohibited from mooring within 200 meters of Chalong Bay Marina for one year, effective today, as seawall construction and renovations take place, confirmed the Phuket Marine Office chief. The order handed down and signed off by Phuket Marine Office Chief Phuripat Theerakulpisut was followed by the expulsion of all boats moored in the marina. “The marina…
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Phuket python caught devouring duck
PHUKET: A Phuket resident was caught off guard when he discovered that a four-meter python had swallowed one of his favorite ducks this morning. “I heard my one of my ducks quacking in alarm, so I ran outside to its cage to make sure everything was okay,” said the duck owner, who asked not to be named. “My duck had…
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Phuket mystery: Autopsies yield no results for reef fish deaths
PHUKET: Autopsy results of dead fish collected at Koh Racha Yai off the southern coast of Phuket have yielded no clues as to why scores of reef fish are being found dead in the area (story here). “We have yet to determine the cause of death. Experts conducted autopsies, but the results were inconclusive,” Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) Director…
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Six illegal elephants to be expelled from Phuket
PHUKET: Six elephants with no valid documentation to stay in Phuket are to be booted off the island within the next few weeks, Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak told the Phuket Gazette yesterday. Phuket Livestock Office personnel will re-check documents which were presented by the owner of the elephants to officers at the Phuket Animal Quarantine Station at Tah Chat Chai…
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Phuket ready to host 16th World Pencak Silat Championship
PHUKET: Phuket will host the 16th World Pencak Silat Championship next year, touted to be the biggest gathering of martial arts competitors ever held in the sport, with more than 600 athletes from 47 countries. “Thailand has hosted many international sporting events in the past with great success. We expect this to be the biggest gathering of athletes yet for…
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Phuket’s bypass road says goodbye to big sinkhole
PHUKET: Traffic is flowing normally again on the bypass road as construction to fix a gaping sinkhole left behind after days of heavy rain storms last week, was completed today. “The road repairs are done. The lane has been re-opened and is now in use,” Phuket Highways Office Director Samak Luedwonghad told the Phuket Gazette this afternoon. “The hole was…
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Officials scramble to dismantle human trafficking network north of Phuket
PHUKET: Officials north of Phuket are attempting to unravel a human trafficking network after the arrest of a Thai “caretaker”. “It is clear that locals are part of this network. We will dismantle it,” vowed acting Phang Nga Governor Prayoon Rattanasenee today. Songphol Klaimee, 20, also known as “Boss K”, confessed to police that he had been assigned the task…
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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