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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Illegal wildlife vendors netted at Phuket’s Wat Chalong Fair
PHUKET: Wildlife preservation officers and Marine Police last night arrested three people and seized more than 300 items of jewelry made from coral and the shells of the endangered Hawksbill turtle. Tanet Munnoy, chief of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) Phuket office, led the raid at the temple grounds after his office received a tip-off from people…
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BREAKING NEWS: Foreigner dies in Phuket ultralight crash
PHUKET: A foreigner died after his ultralight flying boat fell from the sky off the east coast of southern Phuket this afternoon.Staff at a nearby resort in Rawai who witnessed the accident reported hearing an explosion from the machine’s engine before watching in horror as the craft plummeted into the water about 500 meters from the shore.Resort staff scrambled a…
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Phuket honeymooner partially paralyzed as speedboat tackles rough waters
PHUKET: A Swedish honeymooner in Phuket was partially paralyzed from a fall as her speedboat to Phi Phi Island tackled choppy waters last month.“I still have pain in my back. I can move my legs a little bit, but I cannot move my feet at all,” Karin Josefsson said. “My husband also hurt his back, but not severely.”Mrs Josefsson and…
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Police seek arrest warrant over brutal slaying of Phuket teen
PHUKET: Wichit Police will seek an arrest warrant this week for the prime suspect in the brutal murder of Phuket teenager Pawarisorn Sae-Ung. The charred body of Mr Pawarisorn, 16, was found dumped beside Muang Chaofa Road (map here) on December 6. He had been stabbed multiple times, his throat had been slashed and his body set alight (story here).…
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Malaysia Airlines inaugurates Kuala Lumpur-Krabi flights
PHUKET: Malaysia Airlines flight MH770 made its inaugural flight from Kuala Lumpur to Krabi yesterday, initiating a four-times-a-week service between the two destinations. The new B737-800 flights will operate on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, departing from Kuala Lumpur at 2:55pm (local time in Malaysia) and departing from Krabi at 5:20pm (local time). “Last year more than 90,000 tourists from…
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Phuket protesters ignore Chalerm’s order to open government offices
PHUKET: Phuket protesters stand united in defying an order from Bangkok to re-open all government offices on February 6.Chalerm Yoobamrung, caretaker Labor Minister and director of the Center for Maintaining Peace and Order, issued the order yesterday.“I don’t care what Chalerm said, we are not under his control,” said Phuket protest leader Amnuay Kumban this morning.“We will maintain our blockade…
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Phuket media blackout on Hungarian execution case
PHUKET: Moshe David was in court today for the execution of Hungarian businessman Peter Reisz, whose body was found with hands bound in a rubber plantation on Phuket in 2012 (story here). The judge ordered a media blackout on reporting evidence presented at the case, which started at 2pm at Phuket Provincial Court. The judge asked for the blackout to…
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March 30 eyed for Phuket alcohol ban
PHUKET: If alcohol bans during the past two weekends for the national election weren’t enough, the Election Commission of Thailand today revealed that another is on its way, most likely on March 30. Election Commission Secretary-General Puchong Nutrawong explained to Phuket Gazette partner newspaper The Nation that the current term for senators will expire on March 3. The regular end…
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Rice farmer protest closes Phuket highway to Bangkok
PHUKET: The main highway linking Bangkok to Phuket and the rest of Southern Thailand has been closed by rice farmers protesting the government’s failure to pay for rice produced and delivered under the controversial rice-pledging scheme. The blockade is in effect on Petchkasem Road in Ratchaburi, about 100km west of Bangkok. State news agency MCOT reported that the farmers staging…
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Phuket boy drowns after chasing kite into sea
PHUKET: A 9-year-old boy died after being pulled unconscious from the sea in northern Phuket yesterday. Noppadol Kerdsin had been flying a kite on Bang Duk beach at Tah Maphrao Bay (map here) with friends when the line snapped and his kite fell into the sea. Noppadol, who could swim, went into the water to retrieve it, but was repeatedly…
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Body of Phuket fisherman’s son, lost at sea, washes ashore
PHUKET: The body of a mentally-handicapped man who was knocked off a Phuket longtail boat by a large wave on Friday was found washed ashore yesterday. Jirawat Srisomporn, 27, who had been on the boat with his father, a fisherman, could not swim. After he fell into the sea between Rang Yai Island and Maphrao Island, off the east coast…
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BREAKING NEWS: Protesters keep Phuket polls closed for national election
PHUKET: Protesters successfully shut down Phuket polling stations by 8:30 this morning. “Phuket elections have been terminated for today,” Phuket Election Commission Director Kittipong Thiengkunakrit told the Phuket Gazette. The anti-government protesters in Phuket prevented the distribution of MP candidate ballots from leaving Thalang Police Station (story here). The national party ballots for Phuket never made it to the island…
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Phuket yachties petition against boat stay law as wave of contract cancellations hits
PHUKET: The yachting and marine industry in Phuket has launched a petition calling for Customs officials to repeal the new regulation limiting boat stays in Thailand to a maximum of two months during any one visit. The news comes as contracts for berths at Phuket marinas for six months or longer are being cancelled. “Some boats in Phuket are undergoing…
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Phuket’s X-Terminal to be tested by Russians, Chinese
PHUKET: Phuket’s X-Terminal officially opened yesterday and will begin serving the island’s two largest source markets on Wednesday. “The first two weeks are trial weeks for the terminal. We will start with six charter flights per day: three to Russia and three to China,” said Director of Phuket International Airport Pratuang Sornkham. “During this period, we will make sure that…
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Video Report: Phuket protesters block police transfer of election ballots
PHUKET: Phuket anti-government protesters are blockading the Thalang Police Station in an effort to prevent the transfer of ballots to voting stations for the national election tomorrow.A large crowd of protesters gathered outside of the police station, where the ballots are being held, at about 9pm yesterday.Five protesters, chaperoned by Thalang Police Deputy Superintendent Pisit Chunpet, were allowed to verify…
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Phuket doctors unable to save girl found at Nai Harn Beach
PHUKET: Doctors were unable to save the 12-year-old girl pulled unconscious from the bottom of the sea yesterday afternoon at Nai Harn Beach. “The Varissara Thongkham was pronounced dead at about 4pm,” a Vachira Phuket Emergency Medical Service officer told the Phuket Gazette this morning. She was in critical condition when she arrived at the hospital at about 3pm (story…
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Phuket bus ban trial date pushed back, limited to traffic-heavy hours
PHUKET: The Patong Hill bus ban, set to begin by the end of February, will only bar buses and large trucks from crossing Phuket’s most infamous hill from 6am to 9am and 4pm to 7pm. “We will not prevent buses from using the hill to enter Patong all day, just during rush hour,” Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) Chief Terayout…
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Search called off for mentally-handicapped man lost at sea
PHUKET: Phuket Marine Police have given up the search for a mentally-handicapped man who was swept from a longtail boat into the sea today. “We spent more than four hours looking for Jirawat Srisomporn, 27, before we had to call off the mission because of big waves,” said Lt Col Panya Chaichana of the Phuket Marine Police. Mr Jirawat, who…
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Superbowl fever (pre-hangover) in Phuket
PHUKET: As much as I love the National Football League (NFL), I am no fan of the two weeks of retarded media hype in the run-up to the Super Bowl, or “Stupor Bowl” as I like to call it, given the ungodly time it is broadcast live here in Phuket (Monday, February 4, 6:25am). Before I explain why, I should…
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Girl in critical condition pulled from bottom of sea at Phuket beach
PHUKET: Doctor’s are scrambling to save the life of a girl who was pulled unconscious from the sea floor at Nai Harn Beach today. “She arrived at about 3pm in critical condition,” Vachira Phuket Emergency Medical Service nurse Ladda Thongtan told the Phuket Gazette. The girl was one of four children pulled from the water during the rescue. Eyewitnesses to…
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Officer accused of trafficking Rohingya to be investigated by PACC
PHUKET: The Public-sector Anti Corruption Commission (PACC) Region 8 is awaiting final approval from Bangkok to start an investigation into a Phang Nga police officer accused of trafficking Rohingya women over eight months ago. The charges against the officer, Sen Sgt Maj Weerayuth Feuangfu, stem from the case of a Rohingya woman who reported that she was repeatedly raped after…
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Russian tourists spring a leak, saved by Phuket fishing boat
PHUKET: Two Russian tourists foundering in Phang Nga Bay after their kayak sprung a leak were rescued by a passing Phuket fishing boat yesterday afternoon.Maxim Abaturov, 37, and Valerii Grakhouskii, 38, were three kilometers from Phuket when a seal in the front of their two-man vessel began to let in water.Although the kayak remained afloat, it could not support the…
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Aussie bar owner takes deadly tumble down Phuket stairs
PHUKET: A 47-year-old Australian expat fell down a flight of stairs to his death yesterday after a night spent at his bar in Phuket. Adin Medzic had allegedly been drinking at his bar in the OTOP Market in Patong since 7pm Wednesday. He and his Thai partner, Fon Somwong, left together after the bar closed, Maj Weerapong Raktito of the…
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No salvage for sunken Similan dive boat
PHUKET: Liveaboard dive boat MV The Flying Carpet will remain on the sea floor, 75 meters below the Andaman Sea surface, after sinking yesterday between Koh Bon and Koh Tachai, north of Phuket. “There will be no salvage possibility,” said the manager of Aladdin Dive Safari, the company that owned the boat. When asked about insurance, the manager, who asked…
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Phuket’s one-stop yacht center to open next week
PHUKET: Phuket’s one-stop center for arriving yachts is scheduled to open next week. The opening of the facility, on Chalong Pier [map here], was initially set for 2012, then delayed until 2015 before being moved forward to February 7. “We are opening now for financial reasons,” Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) President Paiboon Upatising said. “We signed a three-year contract…
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Video Report: German couple lost in Phuket jungle, found safe
PHUKET: A German couple lost in a huge protected forest in central Phuket last night was returned to safety early this morning.Jurgen Strempel, 51, and his wife Ludecke, 49, called the Tourist Police hotline 1155 at about 8pm, said Lt Adul Boonrat of the Thalang Police.“They said they were on top of a hill between Ton Sai Waterfall and Bang…
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Missing Chinese couple found alive after kayak swamped by waves
PHUKET: A Chinese couple whose rented kayak was swamped by large waves off Ao Nang, Krabi, late yesterday afternoon have been found safe. Tourists Li Qi Ying, a 40-year-old businessman and his 28-year-old wife, Li Bei, were paddling with a friend when a large wave swamped the couple’s kayak, dumping the pair into the sea. “We were paddling out to…
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Phuket taxi driver returns more than 3,000 euros to Frenchman
PHUKET: A Phuket taxi driver yesterday returned a bag containing nearly 150,000 baht’s worth of euros and other valuables to a Frenchman who left it in his taxi. The 57-year-old tourist, Andre Cellier, arrived on January 22 and took a taxi to Patong. When he discovered he had forgotten his bag – which contained his passport and a mobile phone,…
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Phuket Old Town Festival to begin next week
PHUKET: The annual three-day Phuket Old Town Festival will kick off on February 7 with a parade to celebrate the unique culture of Phuket’s residents. Events will be held along Thalang Road, Soi Rommanee and Krabi Road – the heart of the Phuket Old Town area, explained Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupana. “The main purpose of this festival is to…
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Phuket Police vow to protect voters, despite manpower shortage
PHUKET: Despite a shortage of officers, the Phuket Provincial Police have vowed to protect voters from any violence on election day with a special task force. The group of 41 officers will be made up of five fast-response inspectors, 18 undercover officers and 18 officers on standby. “Officers manning the polling stations have been instructed not to interfere with peaceful…
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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