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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10 months later, no action to catch Bea’s murderer – Phuket
PHOTO: Dimitrios ‘Dim’ Chairopoulo, wanted and believed to be living in Greece “We are all in desperate need of some answers so that justice can be served for the family.” It’s been over 10 months since the murder of a local Phuket beautician 43 year old Niramon ‘Bea’ Aewkaew. But her alleged Greek murderer Dimitrios ‘Dim’ Chairopoulos remains on the…
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MD on the run – arrest warrant out for owner of company constructing petrol station in Phuket
PHOTOS: Phuket Hotnews The owner of a company responsible for the collapsed petrol station under construction in Thalang, Phuket, is on the run. Seven people died and two others injured when the concrete pillars gave way to a concrete slab, crushing those below. Chuchart Plasuwan is the 44 year old MD of the The Blue Phuket Co Ltd. The incident…
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Swiss score two firsts at the Laguna Phuket Triathlon
PHOTO: Ruedi Wild crossing the finish line in yesterday’s men’s triathlon event Strong performances by Swiss’ athletes Ruedi Wild and Imogen Simmonds game them firsts at the 26th Laguna Phuket Triathlon yesterday (November 24). Finishing first to claim his third Phuket Triathlon championship, Wild crossed the finish line at 02:21:07, just two minutes before his toughest contender, Michael Raelert of…
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All passengers rescued after cruise incident off Koh Phi Phi
PHOTOS: Phuket Hotnews At about 10am this morning (November 25), the passengers and crew of La Belle Des Ocean, a cruise that crashed into a submerged reef near Bida Nok, 3 nautical miles off Koh Phi Phi Ley, have arrived back at the Phuket Deep Sea Port. There were 150 passengers on board and the cruise was on its way…
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Motorcycle thieves arrested in Patong
PHOTOS: Newshawk Phuket Patong Police arrested three men in the seaside city with motorbikes that had been stolen. It appears the group has been stealing motorcycles around Patong since November 20. The group was spotted stealing a motorcycle on Phra Metta Road in Patong. After further investigation and inspection of CCTV it was discovered that the gang conducted their thefts…
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Arrest warrants issued over Phuket building collapse which killed seven
PHOTO: Matichon Online Thalang District police yesterday issued an arrest warrant for the owner of a construction company responsible for the collapse of a building under construction in Thalang, Phuket, according to online news portal Matichon. Seven Thai and Burmese workers were killed and another two injured following the collapse of the single story concrete structure at a new petrol…
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German tourist dies after being hit by parasail speedboat off Phuket
PHOTO: Achadtaya Chuenniran Police are investigating the circumstances of an incident on Kamala Beach on Friday afternoon where a swimmer was killed after being struck by a speedboat used to tow paying parasail passengers into the sky. A German tourist has died after being seriously injured by a speedboat propellor while swimming off Phuket’s Kamala beach. The victim was a 63…
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UPDATE: Police investigate building collapse in Phuket, killing seven
PHOTOS: Phuket Hotnews UPDATE: Kritsana Pattanachareon, deputy spokesperson for the Royal Thai Police, says that an initial investigation into the collapse of a petrol station being built in Thalang, Phuket on Thepkasattri Road, resulting in seven deaths, indicated that poor construction standards were to blame. “We were informed by police from the Thalang district station that a concrete slab being…
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Five Chinese awaiting deportation after being arrested in Phuket over illegal FOREX trading
PHOTO: SCMP Five Chinese are now in custody after being arrested over the running of an illegal online foreign-exchange. They were running the business from a residential housing estate in Chalong, Phuket. Phuket Immigration officers raided the rented property in the Baan Maneekram-Jomthong Thani estate in Chalong at the end of October. The five were arrested and taken to the…
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Construction site collapse, kills 7, injures at least 2 in Phuket
PHOTOS: Newshawk Phuket Seven people are now dead and at least 2 injured following the collapse of a petrol station construction site near the Home Pro building in Thepkasattri Road in Thalang, northern Phuket. The latest source of deaths and injuries comes from Thai Rath. Construction labourers were stuck under an enormous slab of concrete early this afternoon at 12.50pm.…
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10+ Blacktip reef sharks flock to Maya Bay for breeding season – VIDEO
PHOTO: The Nation Worapoj Lomlim, chief of Noppara Tara-Koh Phi Phi National Park in Krabi, says that more than 10 Blacktip reef sharks had been spotted hunting near Koh Phi Phi Ley’s famous Maya Bay, some of them more than 2 metres in length. The sightings were made yesterday at the closed beach. He noted that the presence of the…
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More than 30 dolphins spotted off Phang Nga coast – VIDEO
More than 30 dolphins were spotted around Phang Nga yesterday. Yesterday morning (November 17), Dive Master Nattapong Ninsawit from Sea Bees Diving Khao Lak revealed that he and his customers spotted a number of dolphins on the way back from their diving trip to Similan Islands. The group were travelling back, and while the boat was passing Similan Islands and…
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Two Thai restaurants grab their second Michelin star – new guide 2019
Traditional Thai restaurants ‘R-Haan’ and southern-style ‘Sorn’ have each scored two Michelin Stars for 2020, while ‘Le Normandie’, ‘Mezzaluna’, and ‘Sühring’ held onto their two stars. Another 24 restaurants in Thailand received their first Michelin gongs. The awards were announced at the launch of the 2020 Michelin Guide for Thailand, featuring award winning restaurants in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket and…
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Phuket scores #2 in Asia’s most popular destination list – Trip Advisor survey
PHOTO: Bangkok Cheap Hotels Phuket has scored the second position in the list of Asia’s Top 25 Destination in a Trip Advisor survey. The survey is done across the travel website’s million of users. Bali scored the #1 position in the extensive reader survey. Three other destinations in Thailand made the Top 25 list – Bangkok at #11, Chiang Mai…
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85 year old Swiss man drowns off Mai Khao Beach, Phuket
An elderly Swiss man drowned yesterday at a beach in Thalang district of Phuket on Thursday afternoon. Paul Brunner, who would have turned 86 next month, was found dead at Mai Khao beach in the northern section of the island around 5.30pm, according to Tha Chatchai police. Police report that he was wearing black swimming shorts. His body was discovered…
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Inaugural Thailand Charter Week in Phuket opens tomorrow
PHOTO: Phuket Yacht Haven, ready for the inaugural Thailand Charter Week – asia-marine.net The Tourism Authority of Thailand has signed up as a Supporting Sponsor of the first Thailand Charter Week in a huge boost for the inaugural six-day event, held at Phuket Yacht Haven from tomorrow to November 21. Organisers were also facing the ‘good problem’ of over demand for berths,…
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‘Coconut Water Gang’ arrested for trafficking children in Phuket
PHOTO: mgronline.com “The child told him that a gang gathered some kids and forced them to sell coconut water and would beat them up sometimes.” Patong police have announced the arrest of the ‘Coconut Water Gang’. There were four suspects from Nakohn Si Thammarat. The gang was accused of trafficking children by forcing them to roam the streets of Patong…
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Rare sighting of 5 metre manta ray in Similan Islands
A dive instructor has reported a sighting of a rare giant manta ray in the Similan Islands National Park in Phang Nga province. Somporn Kaewmaneechote from Sea Turtle Divers says he spotted the marine creature near Ta Chai island while accompanying a group of divers at a depth of about 26 metres. He says the ray was about four or…
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Rare giant manta ray sighted off Phang Nga
“We rarely see manta rays of this size around here, and I’m so glad to have seen one.” A rare five metres wide giant manta ray has been spotted near Koh Ta Chai, north of the Similan Islands group, off Phang Nga province. The photos came from Somporn Kaewmaneechote, a diving instructor with Sea Turtle Diver Company. Somporn said the…
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Kata Group launches new 512-room Phuket family resort – Pamookkoo Resort
Kata Group, Phuket’s oldest hotel group, is launching its eighth resort, the Pamookkoo Resort. The cost of the investment is 1.75 billion baht. The new resort is in the heart of Kata. Kata Group opened its first hotel on Phuket 40 years ago and was a pioneer in attracting the early tourists to the island’s southwest coast. The new hotel…
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Phuket’s water supply running on empty
PHOTO: No, it’s not the moon, it’s Bang Neow Dam this week Phuket shuffles into the high season with meagre water reserves and no concrete, sustainable plans to meet the upcoming seasonal water demands. In April this year the local water authority shuffled uncomfortably about the crisis at the end of the 2018/2019 dry season, denying there was a problem…
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German retiree bundled up and robbed in his Phuket house
PHOTO: Achadtaya Chueniran “The men ran off with two ATM cards and were able to convince the couple to tell them their PIN codes.” A 70 year old German expat has been tied up and his arm slashed during a robbery at his Rassada residence last night. Two men attacked the man, accosted his Thai wife when she arrived home, and…
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Foreign woman saved from drowning at Patong Beach, Phuket
PHOTO: Achadtaya Chuenniran A foreigner, either Swiss or Russian, has been plucked out of the water at Patong Beach, early this morning morning, before sunrise. The incident occurred opposite the beach road post office, according to tourist police. An Ethiopian, named as ‘Ephrem’, told police that he found the woman lying face down and unconscious in the shallows just metres from…
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Russian swimmer drowns at Karon Beach
A 61 year old Russian tourist has died after getting caught in a rip at Phuket’s Karon Beach. Police say the man, whose name was withheld pending family and Embassy notification, was swimming alone at the northern end of the beach, just a few hundred metres from the “Tourist Service Centre”. He was seen struggling after currents dragged him out…
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Phuket Airport officials warn about sky lanterns during Loy Krathong
Phuket airport officials are urging people not to release sky lantern (khom fai)on Loy Krathong as well as the forthcoming New Year. Vijit Keawsaitiam, the Deputy Director of Phuket International Airport, held a meeting about safety measures and discussed about banning lanterns and firework activities during Loy Krathong festival and the New Year celebrations. The Deputy Director said that releasing…
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Body of missing Belarus swimmer found at Nai Thon Beach, Phuket
PHOTOS: Phuket Hotnews The body of the missing Belarus man has finally been found at Nai Thon Beach, Phuket, after going missing four days ago. The body of a 31 year old Belarusian, Shchartsou Makin, was found washed ashore on the rocks of Nai Thon Beach’s southern cape yesterday, after being reported missing a few days ago. On October 30,…
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Sea turtles saved at Phuket’s Naithon Beach
PHOTOS: Newshawk Phuket Two sea turtles have been saved at Naithon Beach on Phuket’s west coast. Today (November 2), at 8am, the Chief of Sirinath National Park, Nathawat Nuisiram, along with research officials, rescued two sea turtles at Naithon Beach. The team received a report from local villagers and headed to the beach to investigate the reports and check out…
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Top 10 must-see things to do in Phuket
Phuket is now a sophisticated tourist destination with so much to see and enjoy on just about any budget. Despite its reputation as a tropical paradise or the infamous Patong nightlife, there is a lot more to enjoy in Phuket these days. The popular Patong Beach is just a tiny proportion of the island’s landmass (about 80% the size of…
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Possessed Krabi drug dealer leads police to his drugs
PHOTO: khaosod.com A drug dealer became ‘possessed’ before leading police to his drugs in Krabi. On October 29, Krabi police arrested two drug dealers, before one of them acted like he was possessed by a spirit and led the police to check his friend’s car to discover even more drugs. Initially, police arrested 31 year old Ekkachai Petchsong when he…
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Phuket burglar dies after jump in Thalang
PHOTO: Bangkok Post “The unidentified man, aged around 30-40, was found lying in a pool of blood on the roof of the shop on Thepkasattri Road.” A man fell to his death after jumping from an apartment onto the awning of a shop below in Phuket’s Thalang district after breaking into an apartment early yesterday morning, October 29. The unidentified…
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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