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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Appeal for forensic experts, body bags
KHAO LAK: A volunteer helping to collect and wrap bodies in this epicenter of the tsunami tragedy issued an urgent appeal this morning for forensic experts to come to the shattered resort to help set up some system for identifying the dead.John Dalley, originally from Leeds, England, but now a resident of Phuket, told the Gazette, “There are lots of…
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Grim toll still rising
PHUKET: Official figures released by the emergency center at Phuket Provincial Hall at 4.30 this afternoon show the number of dead in Phang Nga, Phuket and Krabi, the three provinces worst hit by the tsunami, has climbed to 2,232 .In Phuket the number of dead has risen to 282 (149 Thai, 108 foreigners and 25 of unknown nationality). No new…
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More help for tsunami victims
Support for those affected by Sunday’s tsunami disaster continues to increase.Private tour companies are offering free minibus services to return tourists from the Provincial Administration Organisation (OrBorJor) and nearby offices to their hotels or to Phuket International Airport.Bangkok Phuket Hospital is screening patients and is, with the help of Bangkok Airways, airlifting serious cases to Bangkok free of charge, marketing…
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Devastated Khao Lak resembles war zone
PHANG NGA: Hotels, resorts and other structures along the beach in Khao Lak were devastated by last Sunday’s tsunami waves, which ravaged everything in their path and pushed wreckage back all the way back past Highway 4, the main road through the area.A fisherwoman, Sawaad, told the Gazette, “I saw the huge wave come over one kilometer onto the land.…
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Foreign rescue teams arrive
PHUKET: Teams of foreign rescue workers have been arriving in Phuket to assist in rescue and recovery operations in Khao Lak following Sunday’s disaster. Last night a team of some 35 Taiwanese arrived at Phuket Provincial Hall. Other rescue teams arriving include a unit from Germany and a volunteer squad from the United States.They were followed this morning by French…
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Dead to be buried in Mai Khao
PHUKET: Phuket is preparing a 10-rai plot of land at the Sea Gypsy cemetery in Tambon Mai Khao to bury victims of Sunday’s tsunami waves. Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura said after a meeting with local officials at Phuket Provincial Hall today that the dead will be kept until then in four 40-foot cold-storage containers.Officials will begin moving the bodies to…
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1,536 died in tidal waves
PHUKET: Figures released this morning by the emergency center at Phuket Provincial Hall list 1,536 people dead, 8,953 injured and 4,073 missing in the six southern provinces affected by Sunday’s tsunami waves.Among the dead are 187 foreigners, 1,175 Thais and 174 people whose nationalities remain unknown.The breakdown of the figures is as follows:Phuket: 233 dead; 1,268 injured; 1,580 reported missing.(Deaths:…
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Assistance for Hong Kongers in Phuket
PHUKET: Hong Kong residents of Phuket or the surrounding areas who require help following the tsunami tragedy may call the Hong Kong Immigration Department’s 24-hour hotline at + (852) 2829 3010.Immigration Department Officers are in Phuket assisting, and can be reached on + (852) 6409 1846 or at their temporary office in Room 270, Boat Lagoon Resort, Tel: 66 (0)…
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Phang Nga death toll 1,000 and climbing
PHANG NGA: The bodies of over 1,000 victims of the Boxing Day tsunami have already been recovered in Phang Nga and the number is expected to rise as rescue teams continue their search. Phang Nga Governor Anuwat Metheeviboonwut announced the figure during an interview on Thai television this morning, adding that rescue workers would try to complete their searches of…
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Free flight for Australians, New Zealanders
PHUKET: Australian airline Qantas will provide free seats for stranded nationals of Australia and New Zealand this evening, taking off at 6:45 pm.Those wishing to be on the flight should go direct to the airport and contact the airline’s representatives. For further information, contact Australian embassy personnel in Phuket at 076-370672.
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Donations urgently needed
PHUKET: As the island continues its recovery from the tsunami that hit the island on Sunday morning, many hospitals and other organizations are calling for donations to assist victims. Hospitals: clothes, shoes, counseling: Wachira Phuket Hospital and other hospitals say there is an urgent need for shoes, shorts and T-shirts, especially in sizes large enough for foreigners. Shoes are the…
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Cabinet approves B2.8bn in emergency aid
PHUKET: The Cabinet yesterday approved a 2.8-billion-baht emergency relief budget to help relieve the suffering of those affected by December 26 tsunami.Interior Minister Bhokin Bhalakula said that during a video-conference Cabinet meeting in Phuket yesterday morning, PM Thaksin ordered that the search for bodies in the areas of the Phi Phi Islands and Khao Lak be intensified.Bodies are now piling…
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Missing persons bulletins launched on Gazette Online
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette Online recorded 149,949 visitors during the 24 hours ended at midnight (local time), December 27. Site outages of one to two minutes occurred eight times, for which the Gazette apologizes. A large volume of requests for assistance with regard to missing persons is also being received. In order to “widen the net” and increase the likelihood…
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Commercial airlines offer free evacuation flights
PHUKET: At least five Thai commercial airlines are offering free flights to Bangkok to assist the government effort in evacuating the dead and wounded from the island.Vasing Kittikul, Executive Vice-President of the Thai Airways (THAI) Commercial Department, said that THAI had already evacuated some 1,100 people to Bangkok today.Those injured or needing to arrange transport for the deceased should call 076-327274 or…
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Three-day national mourning period announced
THAILAND (The Nation): Government spokesperson Jakrapob Penkhae has declared a three-day mourning period from today until Thursday, for the victims of the tidal waves that have killed an estimated 2,000 people in southern coastal regions.He added that religious ceremonies will be held throughout the country for the victims on Thursday, starting at 7 pm.Besides flying the Thai flag at half-staff,…
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Toddler reunited with family; mother still missing
PHUKET: Swedish toddler Hannes Bergstrom, just 20 months old, early this afternoon was reunited with his uncle, Kim Kärkkainen, and grandmother Raija Kärkkainen.Hannes was separated from his parents when he was rescued at Bang Niang Beach, Khao Lak, where the family were staying, and brought to Phuket International Hospital.Family members in Finland saw the photograph of young Hannes on the…
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Nai Harn loses a great friend
PHUKET: Phuket, and the Rawai community in particular, lost one of its most dedicated and lovely people to Boxing Day tsunami. Leone Cosens, wife of Tim and friend to many, moved to Phuket from New Zealand some 11 years ago and quickly helped establish the Phuket Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), which, along with other organizations, has helped care for, sterilize,…
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Tourism Council President calls for speedy assistance
PHUKET: Tourism Council of Thailand President Vichit Na Ranong has called for the government to expedite assistance to help in the clean-up effort in the wake of the December 26 tsunami.“It’s too early to estimate the total cost of the damage, but we must begin the clean-up as soon as possible. We can’t afford to wait for three months. The…
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Laguna denies being “totally destroyed’
PHUKET: Laguna Phuket has issued a press statement denying reports broadcast globally on Cable News Network (CNN) that the resort was “totally destroyed” in the Boxing Day tsunami.Laguna Phuket events and Press Relations Manager Michelle Payette told the Gazette, “Not only are we not gone, but we are operational. And we think we will be fully operational within four days.“Anything…
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Final death toll could exceed 2,000
BANGKOK: More than 700 foreign tourists are believed to have died when tidal waves smashed into southern Thailand on Sunday, the deputy interior minister said this morning.“The latest figure we have is more than 990 confirmed deaths. Of these, some 200 were Thais and the rest were foreigners,” Sutham Sangprathum told reporters before a cabinet meeting on the disaster.“But from…
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Death toll update: 600-700 killed
PHUKET: Rescue teams searched beaches and remote islands in search of the missing today as Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said that up to 700 people died when earthquake-induced tidal waves hit resort areas of southern Thailand.According to Prime Minister Thaksin, about 600 to 700 people died when the waves and flooding devastated the coastal areas of Phuket and surrounding provinces.Maj Gen. Kokiet Wongworachart,…
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Baby boy identifed
PHUKET: A young boy rescued by a couple and taken to Phuket International Hospital has been identified as a 20-month old Swedish boy.Family members in Finland saw the photograph of young Hannes Bergstrom on the Phuket Gazette website and contacted the boy’s uncle, Tim Karkkinen, in Pattaya within an hour of the story going online.Mr Karkkinen told the Gazette that…
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Accommodations prepared in Bangkok for foreign tourists
BANGKOK: The Tourism Ministry has prepared over 1,000 rooms in Bangkok to accommodate foreign tourists whose hotels in Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi were destroyed by yesterday’s tidal waves.All domestic airlines will arrange special flights to send foreign tourists from the three provinces to Bangkok. All expenses will be shouldered by the ministry.
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King’s grandson killed by tidal waves
KHAO LAK: A grandson of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej was among those killed when tidal waves smashed into southern Thailand, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced today.He said the body of Bhumi Jensen, 21, was found at the resort of Khao Lak, in Phang-nga province, about one hundred metres away from where he was last seen before the waves hit…
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Blood donors and translators needed
PHUKET: Wachira Phuket Hospital is urgently seeking people willing to donate blood. Although all types – A, AB, B and O – are required, need is especially desperate for rhesus negative, or Rh-, types.Anyone interested in donating blood should present themselves at either the fourth floor of Wachira Phuket Hospital, on Yaowarat Rd in Phuket City, or call K. Sri-Rung,…
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Consular support contact numbers released
PHUKET CITY: Throughout this morning many foreign embassies have been busy organizing people at Provincial Hall to be contacted for information about their nationals who may have been caught in yesterday’s deadly tidal wave..The information presented to the Gazette about the countries represented, their representatives and their telephone numbers is as follows:Australia: 076-370672. Belgium: Ronny Elau 01-8339986.Britain: Mel James 01-9157805.Canada: Diego…
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Consular support for foreigners
PHUKET: The official tally for dead and missing in and around Phuket as a result of yesterday’s tsunami now stands at 122 and 355 respectively, according to the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services System (Narenthorn Center) of the Ministry of Public Health. A further 1,027 people are reported as injured, although one local private hospital confirmed that it alone had…
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Latest toll: 66 dead, 691 injured
PHUKET: Kawee Sukunthamath, Chief of the Phuket Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM), early this evening said that 66 people were confirmed dead by the tidal wave which ravaged Phuket’s coastline this morning. Of the dead, 20 were foreigners. Another 691 people were reported injured, and 22 more were missing.Phuket International Airport resumed normal inbound and outbound flight services…
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Tourists tell of their tidal wave ordeal
PHUKET: Swedish tourist Kjell Sköld, of Gothenburg, has described how the rising waters of the wave trapped him, his wife Bibi, and their young children in their bungalow at Andaman Bay Resort, at Bang Tao.“The water went out then came back in very, very quickly, taking everything with it,” said Mr Sköld. “When the water came into the bungalow, we…
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Tidal wave toll rises
PHUKET: An unconfirmed 22 people have died and more than 1,000 have sought refuge at the Phuket Provincial Office in Phuket City after Phuket’s coast was swamped by a tidal wave caused by an earthquake off Sumatra this morning.Waters off Phuket surged onto land, washing away homes on the east coast and causing damage at resorts all along the west coast.The Gazette…
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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