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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Dead foreigner found floating off Phi Phi Islands
PHUKET: Police on Koh Phi Phi are trying to identify the remains of a foreign man whose body was found floating about 3 nautical miles off the Phi Phi Islands in Krabi. The body was recovered by workers from the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization’s Tourist Rescue Center, which operates out of Chalong Pier in Phuket. The exact time of the body’s…
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Another corpse found in Phuket’s Rasada area
RASSADA, PHUKET: Police have yet to identify the remains of a man whose badly decomposing body was discovered in a wooded area off the access road to Rassada Harbor on Wednesday. Local residents found the deceased lying in a thicket about 100 meters from the road. They called police, who found no signs of a struggle at the scene. Phuket…
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Phuket Marine Biological Center launches turtle project
CAPE PANWA, PHUKET: Researchers from Bangkok and Phuket are preparing to launch Thailand’s first artificial insemination project for sea turtles at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC). Researcher Kanjana Adulyanukosol, who heads the PMBC Endangered Species Unit, said her team will work with researchers from Kasetsart University’s Faculty of Veterinary Science to extract semen from male sea turtles and store…
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Hilton Phuket Arcadia tipped to host Asean summit
KARON, PHUKET: Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban today leads the defense minister, commanders of the armed forces and the national police chief to visit Phuket ahead of the upcoming Asean summit. The group is meeting with tourism industry leaders and local government officials at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa this afternoon. However, it has yet to be formally…
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Type “O’ negative donation urgently needed
PHUKET CITY: Friends of an American man injured in a road accident are appealing for anyone with type ‘O’ negative blood to contact Vachira Phuket Hospital immediately.Steve Swan, 48-year-old proprietor of the Crows Nest bar in Patong, was seriously injured on Wednesday night after his motorcycle collided with a car.He suffered a broken hip and broken pelvis. The driver of the car…
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Phuket charity box bandit nabbed by The Magnet
PHUKET CITY: For a combination of stupidity and lack of ethics, few crimes in Phuket in recent years match that of a man who tried to steal a charity donation box placed on the main counter of the Phuket City Police Station. At 12:30pm on April 21, a police officer noticed that the charity donation box for the Foundation for…
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Phuket dive site damaged by trawler
PHUKET: One of the airplanes at the artificial reef dive site off Phuket known as the “Coral Reef Squadron” has been damaged after being hit by the anchor of a fishing trawler. Rainer Gottwald, CEO of the Thai Dive Association (TDA) technical committee, said the damage probably occurred on the night of April 10. It was discovered the following day. A…
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Good support for Phuket Summer Season campaign
PHUKET: Key Phuket tourism industry executives and Tourism officials gathered at The Chedi hotel on Surin Beach yesterday to show their support for the recently launched public relations campaign to promote Phuket Summer Season. The event, organized by Summer in Phuket campaign leader Nick Anthony, attracted about 200 participants who pledged to join forces in “canceling Low Season” and promoting the…
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Second Phuket Airport road a top priority
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop will make construction of a second north-south artery the top priority among the four new road projects he will push for the island. Presently, Phuket has only Thepkrasattri Road to connect Phuket International Airport to most parts of the the island. With the airport’s planned upgrade allowing it to accommodate 11.5 million passengers a…
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Phuket Police gear up for planned Asean summit
PHUKET CITY: It was a busy day yesterday at Phuket City Police headquarters, where some 300 officers began two days of special training in how to deal forcefully but effectively with large crowds and riots.The training, ordered by Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pigad Thantipong, was in reaction to the political turmoil in the capital and other parts of the country.It…
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Phuket dive boat accident relatives urged to file claims
PHUKET CITY: Relatives of several European victims of the Choke Somboon 19 disaster off Phuket Island have yet to file insurance claims with underwriter AIG, which is waiting to pay out 200,000 baht for each of the deceased.The seven victims – Swiss, German and Austrian – were covered under a mandatory group insurance policy taken out by Dive Asia Phuket,…
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Three Phuket businessmen charged with encroachment
PHUKET CITY: Three prominent Phuket businessmen yesterday morning presented themselves at the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) headquarters in Bangkok to face allegations of land encroachment at Koh Yao Yai in Phang Nga. Pol Lt Col Prawuth Wongsrinil, head of the DSI’s consumer and environment protection unit, identified the businessmen as Thawat, Tara and Prasit Tantipiriyakij. A fourth man, Bumrung…
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Pollution solution due in October, 2010
PHUKET CITY: Phuket City Municipality last week held a hearing to present to the public its plan to build a second waste-to-energy incinerator, scheduled to go on-line in October, 2010. About 300 government officers and members of the public attended the session, held last Thursday afternoon at the Phuket Merlin Hotel. Phuket Vice-Governor Worapoj Ratthasima chaired the hearing and Phuket…
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Social security contributions lowered
PHUKET: In a bid to increase spending, the Thai Social Security Fund (SSF) plans to lower monthly contributions from both employers and employees during the ongoing economic crisis. The Social Security Office board, which manages the fund, is scheduled to meet today to conclude details of the contribution reduction. “The reduction should be applicable for six months starting from June,”…
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Swine flu scanner installed at Phuket Airport
PHUKET: Phuket International Airport and two other major Thai aviation gateways have installed thermo-scanners to screen foreign passengers for swine flu. The two other locations now using the infrared sensors are Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport and Chiang Mai International Airport. Travellers found with suspicious flu symptoms that could develop into the swine influenza will be asked to undergo treatment at the…
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Airport Authority lowers landing fees again
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Airports of Thailand (AOT) is to make a further reduction in landing fees at the six airports under its control, including Phuket International Airport (PIA). In a bid to help struggling airlines battered by dire economic conditions and Thailand’s continuing political turmoil, fees will now be reduced by 30%. Parking fees will also be waived for aircraft…
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Tourism businesses urged to join Phuket re-branding launch
PHUKET, Thailand: A group of local hoteliers and businesses in Phuket have “cancelled” Low Season – April 15 through November 1 – and are renaming the period more appropriately as “Summer Season”, to better reflect the fact that Phuket is one of the world’s top year-round vacation and second home destinations. For further details about Summer in Phuket, visit www.summerinphuket.com…
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Samkong Bridge project nears completion
PHUKET CITY: Workers from the Phuket Rock Company toiled hard over the weekend making repairs to part of the Samkong Bridge, which supports two lanes of traffic on Yaowarat Road.The bridge, built in 1970, passes over Klong Bangyai near Bangkok Hospital in the busy Samkong part of Phuket City.Klong Bangyai, Phuket largest watercourse, drains water from large parts of Muang…
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Phuket may gain from bullish view on Thai markets
PHUKET: Renowned investment guru Mark Mobius remains upbeat about the Thai stock market, due to its “undervalued prices and high dividend yields”. Speaking on Friday at a seminar in Bangkok entitled “The Thai Economy: If It Can Recover”, Mobius said the dividend yield on Thai shares currently averages about 5.5%, well above that of other emerging markets, which are at…
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Gov Wichai to push four road projects for Phuket
PHUKET CITY: In a bid to ease traffic congestion, Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop will push four new road projects for the island. Gov Wichai told a press conference at Phuket Provincial Hall earlier this week that the ever-increasing number of cars on Phuket’s roads makes expansion of the island road network a necessity. The first project would be a new…
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Tourism outlook positive after lifting of emergency rule
PHUKET: Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has pledged to ensure peace and normalcy by relying on relevant laws following the lifting of emergency rule in Greater Bangkok yesterday. “It is the duty of my government to keep the peace, and I pledge to allay public concerns about security by invoking relevant laws without taking any extra measures,” he said. PM Abhisit…
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Frogmen plug leaking oil tank in Satun
PHUKET CITY: A team of frogmen yesterday sealed a hole in the tank of a sunken fishing vessel off Satun’s Koh Lipe, stopping an oil leak that left some island beaches blackened earlier in the week. The oil leak was first noticed early last Saturday morning at Ao Pramong, on the north coast of Koh Lipe. In an all-day operation…
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Game shop killer surrenders
PHUKET CITY: Ekawood Pipatratana, the video game center owner who accidentally shot and killed a 12-year-old boy in his shop on Wednesday, handed himself in to police today. Mr Ekawood, 43, dumped Amornthep “Gaga” Panya-sirikul’s body in marshland near Phuket International Airport before fleeing in his car to his wife in Bangkok. At a press conference at Phuket City Police…
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Mob leader slams Cherng Talay Police
CHERNG TALAY, PHUKET: A member of the mob protesting alleged police inaction in the murder of a 12-year-old boy by an Internet cafe owner spoke with the Gazette late yesterday afternoon about why the group continued to block a stretch of Srisoonthorn Road through the night – even after the victim’s family had disbanded after meeting with the governor. Identifying…
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Cherng Talay protesters finally disband
CHERNG TALAY, PHUKET: An adamant group of protesters continued to block a 300-meter stretch of Srisoonthorn Road in Baan Bang Tao most of today, demanding police catch the man responsible for the shooting murder of 12-year-old Amornthep “Gaga” Panya-sirikul. The group finally disbanded late this afternoon following unconfirmed reports that the shooter was about to turn himself in to authorities.…
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Boy killed in gun play gone wrong
PHUKET, CHERNG TALAY: A 12-year-old boy was shot and killed following a gun play accident at an internet and games shop in Baan Bang Tao, Cherng Talay at about noon yesterday.The shooting occurred at Dr Com Electronic Center located opposite Baan Bang Tao School on Srisoonthorn Road when the owner of the cafe, Ekawood Pipatratana, 34, was showing off his…
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Phuket cancels ‘low season’
PHUKET: A group of local hotels and other businesses in Phuket have “canceled” Low Season – April 15 through November 1 – and are renaming the period more appropriately: “Summer Season”. The new designation (‘re-branding’) is being undertaken to better reflect the fact that Phuket is one of the world’s top year-round vacation and second-home destinations. “We’re going to have…
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Oil still leaking from sunken fishing boat off Koh Lipe
PHUKET CITY: Oil continues to rise to the surface from a sunken fishing vessel off the coast of Satun, endangering marine life and threatening the tourism industry of nearby Koh Lipe. Yesterday, Alee Suksuwan, head of the Satun Provincial Environmental Protection department, visited the site where oil continues to break the surface from the fuel tank of the vessel, which…
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PM confirms plan for Phuket to host Asean summit in June
PHUKET: The government has tentatively chosen Phuket to host the Asean summit with six dialogue partners from the Asia-Pacific region in June, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday. The summit, initially to be held from April 10-12, had to be canceled after it was stormed by red-shirt protesters in Pattaya. Dates for the next summit could not be fixed yet because several…
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Fisherman ends life by lethal injection with weed killer
RASSADA, PHUKET: A commercial fisherman allegedly cheated out of his pay by his employer ended his life yesterday morning by injecting himself with liquid weed killer. At 12:30pm on April 20, Phuket City Police duty inspector Pitak Sompong received a report from residents of Soi Hormok, off Srisuthat Road in Rassada Village 3, that they had found the body of…
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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