Phuket beach closed after croc scare

PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut asked hotel staffers and local residents yesterday to help keep people out of the water along Mai Khao Beach after a 2.5-meter-long crocodile was spotted in the area on Sunday (story here).

“To ensure the safety of tourists and residents, Governor Maitri declared the area a no-swim zone,” Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) Phuket office chief Tanet Munnoy told the Phuket Gazette this morning.

“There is no hunt for the crocodile. Village headmen and villagers have been told not to kill the animal if they spot it. We are only attempting to return it to its natural habitat,” Mr Tanet said.

Officers believe that the reptile is a freshwater crocodile that came from Pru Jae Son Lake (map here).

“This is the first time that we have spotted a crocodile swimming in the sea near Mai Khao Beach,” Mr Tanet said.

“Though tourists might be scared, this animal is not normally aggressive and a great number of them can be found in the right habitat,” he said.

Mai Khao Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) officers, Phuket Fishery officers and members of the DMCR are scouring the area with high-quality cameras from the Phuket Marine National Park and Protected Area Innovation Center that are able to capture footage of the crocodile both whether day or night.

There have been no sighting-reports of the crocodile since Sunday.

— Irfarn Jamdukor