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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The holiday season is here, bringing warmth, joy, and a chance to reflect on the year gone by. As an expat in Thailand, this Christmas is a great time to invest in something that truly matters: health. Whether for you...
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Fire breaks out at Patong bar
A fire broke out at a Patong bar on Thursday, at the tourist hotspot of Bangla Road. Firefighters rushed to the scene to find smoke coming out of the bar. Firefighters reported that the incident was caused by sparks from a high voltage electric cable above the bar. Luckily, no injuries were reported. A photo by The Phuket Express shows…
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Phuket officials say no human trafficking cases found in island province
Thailand is notorious for its human trafficking problems, but a Phuket government sub-committee says it has found no human trafficking cases on the island province. The sub-committee works with the Phuket Provincial Trafficking Prevention and Suppression Action Center. At a meeting at City Hall yesterday, Phuket’s vice governor said the sub-committee’s efforts are focusing on five key areas of human…
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Phuket expects recent India road show to bring in even more tourists, and revenue
Phuket officials are excited to see the payoff of a recent roadshow in India. The Tourism Authority of Thailand, along with the Phuket Tourism Association, went to a roadshow tourism marketing event in India from August 1-6. The event celebrated the 75th anniversary of Thai and Indian relations. Now, the PPAO’s vice president expects another 150,000 Indian tourists to arrive…
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Jungceylon undergoes renovation to become a one-stop shopping paradise
Press Release “Jungceylon Shopping Center is renovating the shopping mall’s basement by allocating space and introducing new exciting shops to meet the lifestyles of Thai and foreign customers,” stated Mr Prawit Janyasittikul, Chief Executive Officer of Jungceylon Shopping Center Patong Phuket. The ‘Jungle Building’ inside Jungceylon has a total basement area is over 7,000 sqm. The food bazaar located in…
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9 year old boy kills a 7 year old girl with a police pistol in Phuket
A 7 year old girl was shot dead by a 9 year old boy with a policeman’s pistol at a house in Ratsada Sub-district, Mueng District in Phuket. The police officer, a relative of the homeowner, later said he forgot he had left a loaded gun at the house. The girl was sent to Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization Hospital with…
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Venue of fatal Phuket shooting given 30-day closure notice
A month-long closure has been ordered for the Phuket nightclub venue that was the site of a fatal shooting earlier this week. The punishment was handed down yesterday by Phuket Vice Governor Anuparp Rodkwan Yodrabam and went into effect immediately. The nightclub and karaoke bar named SOD was open after legal operating hours though it was said to be closed…
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Fire burns wooden house to the ground in Phuket
A blaze burned a wooden house to the ground yesterday evening in Phuket, in the island province’s main city district. The house was located near a mangrove forest, and the cost of damages is being estimated at 50,000 baht. Photos from the Thai outlet Anarchark News show the spot where the house used to stand now covered in ashes, and…
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Phuket foundation gives hundreds of children scholarships
A foundation in Phuket is helping give the island province’s children a bright future. The Kusoldharm Phuket Foundation usually focuses on rescue work and helping victims of accidents and disasters. But the foundation also has an annual education scholarship program. The foundation presented scholarships to 313 children at its annual scholarship ceremony on Tuesday. At the ceremony, the foundation’s president…
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Amidst storms, red flags raised on Phuket’s beaches
As storms continue to plunder through Phuket, red flags have been raised on the island province’s beaches. Beaches with red flags now include Patong Beach, Surin Beach, Kata Beach, and Karon Beach, among others. Tourists have been asked not to get in the water at these beaches while the red flags are posted. This news comes as stormy waves have…
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Infant’s body found in Phuket drainage pipe
An infant’s body was discovered in a water drainage pipe in Phuket this morning. The baby girl was a newborn, only 1-3 days old, and found in Thalang district. A waterworks authority who had been working nearby alerted Cherng Talay Police about the infant’s body. The police are now investigating the case. There have been a few similar, disturbing incidents…
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German tourist tests positive for monkeypox in Phuket, Thailand
A German man has tested positive for monkeypox in Phuket, becoming Thailand’s third recorded case of the virus since the global outbreak began. The 25 year old German tourist travelled to Thailand on July 18 for a holiday in Phuket. Shortly after arriving in the kingdom, he began presenting with monkeypox symptoms. At first, the man developed a fever and…
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Phuket officials visit flood-stricken municipality to help locals
As Phuket continues to suffer heavy floods, officials have visited homes in one municipality to help residents manage the situation. Phuket Governor Narong visited homes in the Srisoothorn Municipality in Thalang district yesterday, along with the municipality’s mayor. Officers from the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation also helped. The group checked to make sure that locals were safe, and…
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Phuket security guard shoots raging bar customer holding a sword
An early-morning scuffle outside of a karaoke bar in Phuket town ended when a security guard shot a Thai customer who was wielding a half-metre-long sword. The pre-dawn incident took place at Nai Mueang Sot Phuket pub and karaoke bar on Phuket Road, with police responding to a call at around 5.50am. Upon arrival, they discovered a 27 year old…
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Vietnamese mother and daughter drown at Phuket beach
At Naithon Beach in the Thalang district of Phuket, a Vietnamese woman and her daughter drowned while swimming yesterday. The waters off the coast were rough with high waves caused by strong winds, and red flags were set up to warn tourists of the dangers of swimming in those conditions. The two women drowned early yesterday morning with police being…
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Covid-19 outbreak in Phuket elderly home
There’s been a Covid-19 outbreak in a Phuket elderly home, with a total of 45 people testing positive for the virus so far. Forty-two elderly residents and three guests have been infected, according to the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office Chief Dr Kusak Kukiattikoon. Dr Kusak said the office was informed of the outbreak on July 27. The Phuket Elder…
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Russian airline Aeroflot resuming flights from Moscow to Phuket
After halting flights due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Aeroflot is now planning on relaunching service from Russia to Phuket. The Russian airline will start its daily flight service from Moscow to Phuket on October 30, to shepherd Russians to the tropics to escape the cold of winter. Earlier this year, Aeroflot was joined with other Russian airlines in…
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UPDATE: Body of foreigner found dead in Phuket is US man
UPDATE: The foreigner’s body that was found in waters off Yanui Beach in Phuket’s main city district yesterday morning has been named as US citizen John Joseph Sheridan. The 74 year old’s body was discovered floating in the water after he apparently fell on sharp rocks and bled to death. Fisherman found Sheridan, from Pennsylvania, floating on the rocky part of the shore…
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Foreigner’s body found off Phuket beach
A foreigner’s body was found in waters off Yanui Beach in Phuket’s main city district this morning. Even though police found an American passport with the body, they stressed that they have not yet officially identified the man. The passport is for a 73 year old man. Police also found Thai and Korean cash with the body, as well as…
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No more monkey business! Phuket monkeys lose tourists from monkeypox scare
Phuket’s monkeys are missing out on their usual feedings from tourists at Koh Siray island’s monkey viewpoint. At the viewpoint, tourists usually buy fruit from vendors to feed to the roughly 200 monkeys there. But following Phuket’s recent monkeypox scare, after a Nigerian man was found to have the virus, fewer tourists are coming to feed their furry friends. Local…
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Armed robber makes off with 160,000 baht from Phuket Tesco
Bank robberies are generally violent affairs, with lots of drama, some shots fired, and an injury or death. But this wasn’t the case when a stick-up occurred yesterday afternoon at a Tesco Lotus department store in Phuket. The cheeky armed robber wandered into the store in the Rawai area of Muang district shortly before 1pm and casually made off with…
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Health officials test 19 for monkeypox after contact with fugitive
After a Nigerian man fled Thailand upon being diagnosed with monkeypox and was subsequently captured in Cambodia, authorities have been tracking down anyone in contact with him to test them for the disease. Health officials have identified 19 high-risk people who came in close contact with the man and have now tested all of them for monkeypox. Results are still…
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Phuket gold necklace thief arrested, Pattaya thefts still unsolved
After an apparent rise in gold necklace snatching crime, police in Phuket have managed to nab one man accused of grabbing a necklace from a woman on her motorbike a few days ago. The necklace that was grabbed as the woman rode her motorbike was gold with a pendant attached and is valued at about 35,000. The Deputy Inspector-General of…
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UPDATE: Thailand’s first monkeypox case goes missing
UPDATE: The 27 year old man who tested positive for the monkeypox virus in Phuket has been missing since Wednesday, July 20 at 9.05pm, according to Phuket police. Despite Thai media widely reporting that the man escaped from the private hospital in Phuket where he initially presented with symptoms, he was actually staying at Patong Princess hotel when he went…
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BREAKING: Thailand’s first monkeypox case allegedly escapes Phuket hospital
Edit: Inaccuracies in this story have been corrected in a recent update. Thailand recorded its first case of monkeypox yesterday. During the night, the 27 year old Nigerian man allegedly escaped from a private hospital in Phuket and drove away in a white car. Officials are currently tracking him down but his whereabouts are unknown. At present, no further details…
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Thailand’s first monkeypox case is identified in Phuket tourist
Thailand has recorded its first case of monkeypox, the 71st country in the world during this recent outbreak, only the fourth since the start of the 21st century. The virus has only been endemic in a few Central African countries up to this stage. The 27 year old man, who had been travelling from Nigeria, was confirmed with monkeypox after…
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Alleged gold necklace thief on the loose in Phuket
It turns out Pattaya isn’t the only spot in Thailand where thieves snatch pricey gold necklaces. One woman in Phuket says a thief on a motorbike grabbed her gold necklace worth about 35,000 baht last night. The victim, 25 year old Kawissara, said she was also driving her motorbike when the thief drove by and snatched her necklace off her…
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Heavy rains cause disruption around Thailand, Bangkok commuters deluged
Yes, it is the wet season. And, just in case you doubted it, Mother Nature has thrown down the rain in buckets to make sure you don’t forget, including Bangkok overnight. The Thai Meteorological Department has issued warnings of “isolated heavy to very heavy rain in most parts of the country” up to July 24. Some parts of the country,…
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Phuket residents welcome the new ‘Khao Daeng Glass Bridge’ to be built in Rawai
A community meeting in Rawai on Tuesday agreed to get behind the latest tourist attraction, the Khao Daeng Glass Bridge, a new viewpoint and tourism focus for the quieter south of the island. President of Phuket Provincial Administration Organisation, Rewat Areerob, presented details about the new attraction and said it was good to have the Rawai community backing the project.…
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Phuket to hold tsunami evacuation drill tomorrow
The tourist resort of Phuket will be holding a tsunami evacuation drill tomorrow from 2pm. Warning alerts in five languages, including English, Japanese, Chinese, and Russian will be available, and 200 assembly points in three districts are prepared. The Director of Phuket’s Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, Udomporn Karn, informed the media that Phuket’s yearly tsunami evacuation drill would focus…
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Striped dolphin dies in Patong after washing ashore injured
A striped dolphin has died after beaching itself in Patong despite local rescuers’ best efforts. The dolphin was found after having washed up on shore with a serious injury and was reported first to the Patong Police just before 5:30pm yesterday. Kathu district lifeguards were the first to spot the striped dolphin as it came ashore and when they saw…
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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