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.
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Mystery surrounds Korean’s death plunge
PHUKET CITY (Nation, Gazette): South Korean tour guide Kim Kyoung Hoon, 39, fell to his death from the rooftop of The Metropole hotel in downtown Phuket City early this morning.Capt Krerkrit Ritnuang, of Phuket City Police Station, said that a hotel security officer found the body of Mr Kim, who was not a guest at the hotel, lying in the…
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Police nab prolific thief
PHUKET CITY: Phuket City Police announced the arrest of suspected thief Somsak Kaewdee, 27, at a press conference on Tuesday.Somsak, a resident of tambon Thepkrasattri, in Thalang district, is accused of robbing homes and small shops throughout Phuket.He was arrested at the entrance of Soi Hone Sai Thong, in Moo 7, Rassada, on Monday at 2:30 am, said Lt Col…
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Phuket Carnival marks high season arrival
PATONG: The Phuket Carnival 2007 will take over the streets of Patong today through Saturday, marking the official launch of the high season with musical performances, parades, food and games and much more. The festival started at 7 am with an alms-giving ceremony at Loma Park. Commerce Minister Krerkkrai Jeerapat will preside over the official opening ceremony 6:30 pm tonight…
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Thais miss out as FIVB tourney begins
KARON: The world’s top women’s beach volleyball players took to the sands today as part of the Swatch FIVB Beach Volley World Tour 2007.After a closely-fought battle, Thais Manerat Udomchavee and Julaluk Radarong narrowly missed out on a place in the second qualifying round after losing 2-1 (21-16, 19-21, 15-12) to Dutch pairing Sanne Keizer and Mered de Vries.In hot…
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Police call for Kata Viewpoint streetlights
RAWAI: Chalong Police this morning urged Phuket Governor Niran Kalaynamit to co-ordinate with the Kata-Karon and Rawai municipalities to have more streetlights installed along the dark stretches of road near Kata Viewpoint in order to make the streets safer for nighttime motorists.Speaking at the Phuket Provincial Security Meeting this morning, Lt Col Suwat Kaewprom, deputy superintendent of Chalong Police Station,…
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Probe to investigate Patong landslide
PATONG: Patong Municipality today set up a special committee to investigate the landslide area along Soi Veerakij [Nanai Rd Soi 9] and determine how many homes in the area are at risk of tumbling down the escarpment left behind by the recent landslide.Patong Municipality Chief Administrator (Palad) this morning told the Gazette that the villa and five-story apartment block left…
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Patong tunnel idea given fresh impetus
PATONG: The concept of building a tunnel between Kathu and Patong has been refloated and is being researched with an 80-million-baht feasibility study. Building the tunnel alone is already being estimated to cost as much as up to a billion baht. Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit told the Gazette that the Phuket Provincial Office held a meeting with the Highways Department…
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Allegations of vote-buying under investigation
THALANG: Accusations of vote-buying in the presidential election in the Srisoonthorn Administration Organization (OrBorTor) council election on October 7 are being investigated, including a vote recount, after official complaints were filed with the Phuket Election Commission (PEC) on October 5.Kraisri Kiewwan, chief administrator (Palad) of Srisoonthorn OrBorTor, told the Gazette that on October 5 a group of Srisoonthorn residents filed…
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Incinerator “on hold until after elections’ – Governor
PHUKET: Consideration of approval for funding to build a second garbage incinerator is likely to have to wait until a new government is elected in the national elections slated for December 23, Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit told the Gazette yesterday.“Bearing in mind the current political situation as the government gears up for national elections at the end of this year,…
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Two tourists drown
KATA-KARON: Two foreign tourists who ignored red warning flags and entered heavy surf drowned in separate incidents yesterday afternoon at Kata and Karon beaches.Pol Lt Col Chana Suthimas, duty inspector of Chalong Police Station, identified the victim recovered at Karon Beach as 41-year-old Mesut Yetkin from Turkey. His death was reported about 6:40 pm.A few hours earlier, about 3 pm,…
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Flash flood warning issued
PHUKET: The Meteorological Department (West Coast) today issued a flash flood warning for people living in hillside areas in Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi and Trang due to continuing heavy rains in the region.The warning also advises against small craft venturing out in the Andaman Sea.Aroon Kerdsom, who heads the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket) office, said workers had…
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Dim bikers shown the light
PHUKET CITY: In a bid to improve road safety, the Phuket Community Foundation (PCF) is launching a project to replace substandard taillights on motorcycles from November 8 to 10.The project will provide 1,200 tail lights and brake lights for a wide range of the most common small-engine scooters and motorcycles made by Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki.The taillights will be…
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Semi-trailer jackknifes, causes 5km tailback
KOH KAEW: A 22-wheel semi-trailer slid out of control on a wet Thepkrasattri Rd early this afternoon and came to rest only after slamming into the footpath.The driver lost control of the vehicle about 1:30 pm after braking hard to avoid hitting a motorcycle that crossed in front of the truck.The driver, Vinai Lekpetch, 45, told the Gazette, “I was…
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Police arrest Phuket City “serial thieves’
KATHU: Two men have been arrested for a series of robberies after they were caught on video by CCTV breaking into an apartment, Pol Lt Col Thitirat Asakit of Tung Tong Police announced this morning.On September 29 about 11 am, Tung Tong Police Station received a call from a female student who said her laptop computer and mobile phone had…
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Who’ll stop the rain?
PHUKET CITY: Heavy rains today has caused flooding and traffic jams in some areas, but thus far there have been no reports of landslides or serious damage.A two-hour downpour starting about 10 am left Phra Phuket Kaew Rd near the Tesco-Lotus intersection under about half a meter of water, resulting in a tailback all the way to Kathu. Other parts…
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Roadworks delay for “death bend’
THALANG: Road construction to straighten the notoriously dangerous Kho En “death bend” on Thepkrasattri Rd has been delayed, with just 2% of the roadwork finished on the project that began June 28 and was scheduled for completion by December 24.The Phuket Highway District contracted Chaiyakorn Co Lt to expand the 440-meter section of the four lane road and decrease the…
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Construction of controversial Tesco continues
THALANG: The ongoing dispute between some Cheng Talay residents and mega-retailer Tesco Lotus is no closer to being solved, as construction continues on the fiercely-opposed Tesco Lotus Express Store in Bang Tao. At a meeting yesterday between Thalang District chief Chaivat Tapee and representatives from Cherng Talay Municipality, the newly-elected Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) and a group of…
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Phaya Thai hospital plan comes under fire
PHUKET (Nation): The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) project to revamp the old Phyathai Hospital on the east side of Phuket City has come under criticism by Health Ministry officials, who claim it will lure qualified staff away from already short-staffed medical facilities.Ministry policy and strategy bureau director Dr Supakit Sirilak said state hospitals outside Bangkok already had too few…
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Man, 64, attacked in Rawai
RAWAI: Briton Bill O’Hare, 64, was attacked while riding his motorbike home late on Saturday night. He was hit in the head with a piece of lumber and kicked in the ribs before his attackers took off after they were startled by a woman who witnessed the crime.“I was riding my bike up the soi from Rawai Minimart, opposite Nikita’s,…
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Haze shrouds Phuket, neighboring provinces
PHUKET: Unusually hazy conditions over the island today are normal and not the result of any forest fires in the region, Phuket’s top meteorologist says. Wiwat Intarapanich, Chief of Weather Forecasting at the Meteorological Department’s Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast), told the Gazette this afternoon that the haze is normal for the southern region at this time of year and…
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Bodies of ferry sinking victims recovered
PHANG NGA: Rescue workers yesterday afternoon pulled the bodies of a woman and her nine-year-old granddaughter from the sunken car ferry Jern Jern, which capsized about 1 am on Tuesday off Koh Pratong, Kuraburi District in Phang Nga.All bodies have now been recovered from the sinking, which claimed three lives.Pol Maj Nirat Chuayjit of the Marine Police office in Kuraburi…
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Four Chinese arrested for smuggling fuel
PHUKET: Phuket Marine Police yesterday arrested four Chinese sailors near Koh Hei after they were caught with 20,000 liters of illegal fuel on board, Pol Lt Col Prasert Srikunnarat told the Gazette.“We were informed about 2 pm of an odd-looking boat about three miles from Chalong. We went there and found an old, unregistered boat flying orange cloth as a…
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Rawai crackdown nets two “road robbery’ suspects
CHALONG: Chalong Police have charged two suspects for armed robbery following a spate of violent robberies on roads in Rawai in recent weeks, but the pair are not suspects in the killing of Norwegian Simen Knudsen last month.The two suspects, identified as Itthipol “Ron” Chudam, 21, from Songkhla, and Boonkiet Chuchao, 18, of Nakhon Sri Thammarat, have denied any involvement…
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One dead, two missing as Phang Nga ferry sinks
PHANG NGA: A ferry overloaded with construction material capsized and sank off Koh Prathong in Kuraburi district about 1 am Tuesday, claiming the life of the captain. Two others survived, but a woman and her granddaughter are missing presumed dead.Pol Maj Nirat Chuayjit of the Marine Police office in Kuraburi identified the sunken ferry as the Jern Jern, a flat-topped…
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VeggieFest Day 7
Over 1,000 mah song (“entranced horses” or spirit mediums) from Chinese shrines around the island joined together this morning to take part in the Jui Tui Chinese Shrine street procession to Saphan Hin. Today marked day seven of the nine-day festival, the island’s signature cultural event that has spread to many other parts of Thailand.
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Govt-assessed land prices skyrocket
BANGKOK: Over the past four years, Phuket has recorded the highest land-price increase in Thailand, according to unofficial results of a nationwide land appraisal conducted by the Treasury Department.A source in the Treasury Department told a Prachachart Turakij reporter that on average, land prices in Phuket had increased 157.7% due to sustained growth in the tourism, real estate and retail…
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Body of boat sinking victim found
SATUN: The body of a man missing at sea for 17 days after the boat he was on sunk off Koh Racha Yai was recovered by Marine Police yesterday at Koh Tarutao in Satun.Phuthong Tirawattana, an employee of the Tai Lee Yong seafood restaurant in Saphan Hin, was one of five co-workers left floating through the night in stormy seas…
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Karon Stadium debacle forces major tourneys to relocate
KARON: The poor state of the pitch at Karon Stadium has forced two international sporting events, the Phuket Soccer 7s and the King’s Cup 80-80 International Rugby Tournament, to be relocated.After more than a month of the organizers voicing their concerns over the pitch, which in poor condition could result in player injuries, the Soccer 7s will be played at Surakul Stadium in Phuket…
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German tourists die in flash flood
SURAT THANI (Nation): Rescue workers have recovered the bodies of eight German tourists and two Thai guides who died in a flash flood in Ban Takhun district yesterday evening.Police said the tour group went into a cave which has a waterway leading to the Ratchaprapha Dam reservoir in Khao Sok National Park about 7:30 pm when they were swept away…
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Vegetarian Festival in full swing
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2007 is well underway, with Kuan Te Kun Shrine, locally known as Sapam Shrine, this morning conducting the first of the nine street processions that are among the festival’s major highlights. The Sapam Shrine procession started at 8 pm at Nakhon Rd, behind the Phuket City Police Station. Amidst the cacophony of firecrackers set off…
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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