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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Roads reopen as floods recede, but residents still on high alert
PHUKET: Police today reopened roads in Phuket’s busiest tourist town of Patong after heavy rain there yesterday delivered floodwaters reaching depths of up to a meter deep, cutting off roads and access throughout the resort town. The worst affected area was Phang Muang Sai Kor Road in front of the Patong Hospital. Thaweewong Road, including near Loma Park on the…
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Health officials call for a ‘safer’ Phuket Vegetarian Festival
PHUKET: With 70 people injured and one person dying from complications brought on by smoke inhalation during the Vegetarian Festival last year, the Phuket Health Office is calling for more stringent measures to protect celebrants from harm this year. Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) chief Dr Sak Tanchaikul called the heads of Chinese shrines taking part in the this year’s…
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Phuket Vice Governor to take the big chair on October 1
PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa will take on the responsibility of Acting Governor from October 1 following the Thai Cabinet failing to name a successor to Tri Augkardacha, who will retire this Sunday, September 30.The news follows a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday not including the annual reshuffle of provincial governors on its agenda as Deputy Prime Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit…
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Patong police defer action in Tiger Disco investigation
PHUKET: Police yesterday declined to commit to pressing any charges against the operators of the Tiger Discotheque over the fire that destroyed the venue and killed four people, including two tourists in Phuket’s main tourism town, Patong. Provincial Police Commander Chonasit Wattanavrangkul chaired a meeting with Patong Police to review the forensics report into the cause of the fire and…
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Update: Jellyfish attack not anywhere near Phuket
PHUKET: Following the confusing report by the Daily Mail of a British mum on holiday suffering severe injuries in a jellyfish attack “somewhere near Phuket”, the Phuket Gazette has since discovered that the woman was first treated at a hospital near Hua Hin, on the Gulf of Thailand, about 600 kilometers away from Phuket. Contrary to our earlier report, Bangkok…
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Weather warning issued as rain soaks Phuket traffic
PHUKET: Heavy rain across Phuket this morning has caused minor flooding in some areas and severely hampered traffic flow during the morning rush hour.The Phuket Gazette has received reports of minor flooding in Phuket Town, as well as some parts of Chalong and Patong.The news comes as the Thai Meteorological Department (MD) at 5am today issued its eighth consecutive “heavy…
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Go-Eco Phuket dives for biggest reef cleanup in world
PHUKET: Qualifiers keep dropping with Go-Eco Phuket as the environmental group prepares for its official launch on September 30 with the biggest reef cleanup of any kind in the world. “On September 30, the eyes of the world will be attracted to Phuket,” Tony Andrews, Thailand’s West coast PADI Regional Manager and Project AWARE Ambassador, said at a press conference…
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Phuket’s “Pink Panther’ Paiboon denies “last stage’ cancer rumors
PHUKET: Paiboon Upatising, the president of the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (PPAO), today replied personally by email to the Phuket Gazette to deny rumors that he has last stage cancer.“Don’t listen to all the rumors. I do not have final stage cancer, and thank you to everybody for your concern,” he wrote.Mr Paiboon said that he went to Bangkok Hospital…
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Phuket endangered species experts launch turtle preservation project
PHUKET: Islanders living on Koh Ra and Koh Pratong in Phang Nga have been selected by the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) to participate in a pilot scheme for a community network to preserve the sea turtle population. Dr Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong, who heads the PMBC’s Endangered Species Unit, told the Phuket Gazette that the number of turtles laying eggs on…
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Phuket Live Wire: iPhone 5 – Caveat emptor
PHUKET: Last week I talked about the importance of fast internet speeds and the evolution of technology in Phuket. This week, man oh man, the pigeons came home to roost. If you’re thinking about buying an iPhone 5, it would behoove you to read and understand this and next week’s column. The money you save could be your own. I…
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Radar, GPS tracking to net foreign charter yacht tax dodgers
PHUKET: The chief of the Phuket office of the Marine Department says he is drawing up plans to launch a campaign targeting “hundreds” of visiting foreign yachts that avoid paying tax to Thai officials despite conducting “business” in Thai territorial waters. Named among the visiting yachts to be targeted were charter tour boats for tourist activities, such as snorkeling, diving…
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New hospital wing rises in Patong
PHUKET: Construction of a new 69-million-baht wing at Patong Hospital, that will double the facility’s inpatient capacity, is well underway and scheduled for completion by August next year.The new building, under construction by Pornthisan Co Ltd, will provide room for 60 more inpatient beds and another 13 private rooms, Hospital Director Phumin Silapunt explained to Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa…
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Phuket Police on lookout for snatch artists in Kata
PHUKET: Police are searching for two men who conducted a drive-by purse snatch in Kata last night. Russian tourist Irana Yazvenko, 29, told Chalong Police that she and her friend were riding a motorbike near the Club Med resort at about 9pm when two men pulled up on a motorbike alongside them, snatched her bag and sped off. Capt Teanchai…
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Patong security guard arrested on Deep South terrorism charges
PHUKET: Phuket police have arrested a security guard in Patong wanted on an outstanding warrant for charges related to terrorist activities in Thailand’s restive Deep South. The man had a bounty on his head of more than one million baht for his capture, said police. Mahamasakree Mahama-useng, 29, was arrested at a rented house in the Soi Bang Thong area…
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Phuket Police identify body of woman found in roadside ditch
PHUKET: Police have identified the woman whose body was found alongside her motorbike in a roadside ditch opposite Ladthi Wanaram Temple (Wat Tai) on Chao Fa East Road this morning as that of 26-year-old Chanupan Sawangewit. Police suspect that Ms Chanupan lost control of her motorbike while riding back to Phuket Town after visiting her mother’s house in Soi Koktanod,…
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Phuket Sports: Unity USA douses Rising Stars in basketball finals
PHUKET: American ballers on Saturday showed basketball lovers why they continue to dominate the sport, with USA’s Team Unity securing a gold medal in Phuket’s first international basketball tournament. Held between September 14-22, the TOA Thailand Open 2012 Phuket Championship featured six teams – two from Thailand and a team each from USA, Australia, Indonesia and Brunei – who played…
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Phuket Sports: Warlords conquer the Islanders
PHUKET: A poorly coordinated and lackluster Phuket FC defense conceded five consecutive goals in a devastating 5-1 away loss last night to Saraburi FC. Played in front of 1,328 fans at Saraburi’s OrBorJor Stadium in Saraburi province, about an hour’s drive northeast of Bangkok, the match was both side’s 28th of 34 scheduled fixtures. Though playing without their key Brazilian…
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Phuket ‘jellyfish attack’ report eludes hospitals, confounds experts
PHUKET: Local hospital staff and experts at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) are confounded by the story of a British woman, reported in sensational fashion yesterday, as suffering extreme injuries in a jellyfish attack “somewhere near Phuket”. Although the story, published by the Daily Mail in the UK, showed that British mum Sam Webster, 37, clearly suffered serious injuries,…
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Phuket Burmese decry gold shop bandits
PHUKET: A crowd of onlookers at the re-enactment of the robbery of Yong Chuan gold shop in Rassada shouted disparaging remarks and denounced the prime suspect as he retraced his getaway from the Karn Keha Housing estate yesterday. “You have shamed our community” and “We’re glad you finally surrendered,” were shouted at the suspect, named by police only as “Koson”.…
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Phuket Roads: Pay now, please, for the failure of planning
PHUKET: Work on Phuket’s first underpass is slated to start by the middle of next month, and is expected to shed harsh light on just how deplorably ‘planners’ have failed to develop Phuket’s road infrastructure to keep pace with the island’s development. [See front page, current issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers click here to download the full newspaper.]…
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Phuket Sports: International sporting round-up
PHUKET: THE ICC World Twenty20 started in Sri Lanka on Tuesday and runs until October 7. The fourth edition of the tournament features ten ICC full members and two other ICC members who had to qualify for the tournament. India, England and Afghanistan are in Group A. Ireland are in group B with the West Indies and Australia. Group C…
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Phuket Sports: ICC Move One Step Closer To Finals Berth
PHUKET: ICC and Patong met for the second time in the Outrigger T20 league last Sunday at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) with both teams keen for victory to join Laguna on top of the table and move a step closer to securing a finals berth. Despite heavy rains during the week, the ACG once again came up trumps with…
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United Nations launches initiative to plug ‘gaps’ in Thai disaster management
PHUKET: Marking nearly one year ago since floodwaters inundated most of Thailand and its capital Bangkok, the Royal Thai Government and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) launched a new initiative today to boost the capacity of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) to be able to respond to large-scale floods and other natural disasters. The DDPM is…
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Phuket gold thief surrenders to see ‘dying wife’
PHUKET: One of the two men wanted for making off with millions of baht in jewelry from a Phuket gold shop on Monday surrendered to police today, saying that he wanted to see his wife again before she died from a heart condition. The man, a Burmese national named by police only as “Mr Koson”, arrived in front of Phuket…
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Phuket Sports: Ballers rock Saphan Hin
PHUKET: Thailand’s most significant international basketball tournament has livened up Phuket Town’s brand new 4,000 seat Gymnasium with some fast-paced, slam-dunk and swooshing action this past week. The third and fourth playoff will see PEA (THAI) take on CLS Knights (INA) at 2pm with the final to be played at 4pm which will test the Rising Stars (Thai) against the…
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Phuket Sports: Gonzalo has gone and done it again; Golfing tip of the week
PHUKET: Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, who didn’t quite make the Ryder Cup team, showed he would have been a worthy pick by beating the field in solid fashion to win the BMW Championship at Royal Park I Roveri in Italy. Garth Mulroy, a little known journeyman from South Africa, tried his best to keep up with Gonzalo. Matteo Manassaro, the young golfing…
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Phuket City to spend more than B100mn on flood defense
PHUKET: In the wake of floodwaters inundating Phuket Town in August, Phuket City Municipality is looking to spend 100 million baht on flood defense measures, starting with a 10-million-baht study conducted by a private consultant. The news was delivered at a public meeting chaired by Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupana at the Phuket Merlin Hotel in Phuket Town on Wednesday.…
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World champion eyes Laguna Phuket Ironman 70.3 title
PHUKET: The recently-crowned 2012 Ironman 70.3 World Champion, Leanda Cave, has signed up for the Laguna Phuket event less than 24 hours after completing her epic World Championship victory in Las Vegas on September 9, and before resuming training for her next title bid at the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii on October 13, it was revealed by the…
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Wife begs gold-thief husband to turn himself over to Phuket Police
PHUKET: The captured wife of a brazen smash-and-grab gold thief last night begged her husband to turn himself over to the Phuket Police so that she could return to Burma and take care of her children. In the midst of tears, Mrs Musa insisted that she did not know the shampoo bottles she was fleeing to Burma with were stuffed…
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Phuket powers up to fewer scheduled blackouts
PHUKET: Residents and businesses across the island are likely to be subjected to fewer scheduled blackouts in the coming years, the Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) has told to the Phuket Gazette. The blackouts, needed so PPEA crews can carry out maintenance on high-voltage power lines, install new lines and move power poles, have regularly seen entire areas of the…
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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