South Thailand News
Southern Thailand news, Phuket news, Koh Samui news, and Krabi updates—stay informed on business, tourism, and local events from Trang, Songkhla, Yala, and beyond. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Southern Thailand news source.
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Soldier injured by pipe bomb in Yala
A soldier has been injured after a pipe bomb was tossed into a military base in Yala, the “deep south” province near the Malaysian border with occasional violence related to the religious separatist insurgency. The incident occurred last night and was detailed in a report from the Muang police station. The Bangkok Post reports that the attack happened around 8pm…
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Off-duty volunteer ranger shot and killed in Narathiwat
An off-duty territorial defence volunteer was shot and killed in Narathiwat, a province in Thailand’s “Deep South” near the Malaysian border with ongoing violence due to the religious separatist insurgency. The volunteer, Madrusli Kolae, was killed around 6:15pm yesterday as he was going home on his motorcycle after playing football at a field in the Chanae district. Witnesses say they…
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Betong Airport in Yala is almost ready to be southernmost Airport
Thailand’s southernmost province is set to open Thailand’s southernmost airport as the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand is nearing completion of safety inspections for Betong International Airport in Yala province. The CAAT is doing safety and security inspections now, which will be followed by a license and certification that will allow commercial flights to operate in and out of the…
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Nakhon Si Thammarat man arrested for allegedly possessing 2 illegal firearms
Today, a man in the Southern Thai province of Nakhon Si Thammarat was arrested after police searched his dwelling and located 2 firearms. Serm Kwannimit, the deputy provincial police chief, says, officers were responding to information that military-grade weapons were being sold at 20 year old Teeradet “Bang Jack” Chuhai’s house. Police found an AK-47 assault rifle and a 9mm…
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Rubber plantation workers severely injured, man’s leg blown off after stepping on bomb
A man’s leg was blown off in a bomb explosion while he was working in a rubber plantation in Narathiwat, a province in Thailand’s Deep South near the Malaysia border where small bombings and attacks happen occasionally due to the religious separatist insurgency. A woman’s face was also injured in the explosion. The two were working in the rubber plantation…
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Koh Lipe enacts 1 month lockdown restrictions from tomorrow
After a new outbreak of Covid-19, Koh Lipe will become the latest Thai destination to go into semi-lockdown and harsh restrictions including a curfew. The governor of Lipe’s province Satun has ordered a month-long near lockdown beginning August 9 and ending September 5. The order, officially titled Satun Province 1482/2564 on preventative measures and control of Coronavirus disease 2019, comes…
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Songkhla Birthday beach party busted
Recently, police in the Southern Thai province of Songkhla arrested 61 people at a birthday beach party. Reportedly, 35 suspects were minors. The birthday, which was thrown in the middle of the night, took place on the beach and included loud music and alcohol, says Thai media. Despite arresting 61 people, police suspect more people were present but managed to…
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Songkhla beach party sees 61 arrested violating Covid-19 rules
A reckless birthday beach party in Songkhla in violation of several Covid-19 restrictions resulted in 61 arrests, half of which were underage. Songkhla is a dark red zone, where any gathering with alcohol is prohibited and non-alcoholic gatherings are limited to a maximum of 5 people. Last night on Wang Nao Beach in Nath Thap sub-district of Songkhla, 61 people…
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Suspected insurgent wanted for murder killed by forces in Pattani
A suspected insurgent wanted on murder and numerous other charges was killed in a clash by security forces in the Deep South province Pattani near the Malaysian border, an area prone to violence due to the ongoing religious separatist insurgency. A Thai government unit had surrounded a home on a rubber plantation in Nong Chik district suspected of being used by…
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Covid outbreak closes Nakhon Si Thammarat rubberwood processing factory
A rubberwood processing factory in Nakhon Si Thammarat, a southern Thai province, has been ordered closed for 14 days (reopening on August 7) following 221 workers testing positive for Covid, says the provincial communicable disease committee, today. The majority of the cases, 166, were reported today. All of the workers will be tested, soon. The committee says 2 field hospitals…
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Car crash kills 2 in Songkhla, police investigate
A car crash in southern Thailand’s Songkhla province has killed 2 people. The couple sailed their car off the road and into a canal off a main highway, yesterday afternoon. Vivorn Khunkaew, who works as an investigator for the Thepha police stations, says the car accident happened around 4 pm yesterday, close to the Moo 2 village in tambon Pag…
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Pattani bomb and gun attack injures 5 police in their truck
In the southern province of Pattani, where insurgency activity often erupts in violence and damage, an attack has left 5 police officers wounded. The incident yesterday afternoon involved gunfire and a bombing as police officers were attacked in their car. The preliminary reports believe that the police officers were responding to a call for backup support around 4:30 pm. They…
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Man allegedly admits to killing his son
Last night in the southern Thai province of Nakhon Si Thammarat a man went to a police station and allegedly confessed to killing his son. 65 year old Boonyuen Waennak brought himself to a police station around 10 pm and admitted to his act of filicide, says Police Chief Thien Banthip. After being notified of the slaying, police investigated the…
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30-day curfew for Songkhla following a surge in Covid-19 cases
Officials in Songkhla have announced a 30-day curfew in an effort to fight a surge of Covid-19 infections in the southern province. According to a Bangkok Post report, the provincial communicable disease committee has confirmed the curfew, which came into effect last night and is in place until July 29. Governor Jaruwat Kliangklao says residents must remain home between the…
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Woman killed while trying to cross the road in Nakhon Si Thammarat
A woman was hit by a car while she was crossing the road in the Na Bon district of Nakhon Si Thammarat this morning, says police. Veerayuth Rakthai, a police chief investigator says the victim was a Myanmar national identified as 54 year old “Chan” and says she worked at a rubber plantation. According to Thai media, Chan was attempting…
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First case of Beta variant reported in Bangkok
Bangkok has reported its first case of the Beta variant of Covid-19, originally detected in South Africa. According to a Bangkok Post report, the patient had contact with an infected person in the southern province of Narathiwat. Hundreds of cases of the Beta variant have already been reported in southern Thailand and are believed to have been imported from Malaysia.…
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Covid UPDATE: 4,161 new infections, 51 deaths, provincial totals
Today the public health department announced 51 deaths and 4,161 new infections of Covid-19. Only 72 were related to detections in Thai prisons, a further drop in prisoners testing positive for the coronavirus. Here is Saturday’s announcement of Provincial cases announced in the past 24 hours. Notably Chon Buri added a whopping 320 new infections to today’s total. Phuket, ready…
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Covid UPDATE Saturday: 4,161 new infections, 51 deaths
For Saturday, the trend of new infections, and deaths, from Covid-related disease, remains on the rise. Today the public health department announced 51 deaths and 4,161 new infections of Covid-19. Only 72 were related to detections in Thai prisons, a further drop in prisoners testing positive for the coronavirus. As the Thai government is faced with its worst week of…
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1 month closure of Bangkok, southern work camps ordered
While Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul claimed the situation in Bangkok hospitals was not critical, senior doctors at many hospitals are proposing a 1-week full lockdown of the capital city. Perhaps meeting in the middle, late this afternoon PM Prayut Chan-o-cha announced the 1-month closure of all construction work camps in Bangkok as well as 4…
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Man wanted for attempted murder arrested on train
A man who slashed a relative for not helping with car payments has been caught on a train in Nakhon Si Thammarat. An arrest warrant had been out for Kitiphong since November of last year for attempted murder. Kitiphon was arrested on a train in Nakhon Si Thammarat. He allegedly confessed to the slashing. According to the police, Kitiphon was…
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263 covid cases linked to canned seafood factory in Songkhla
Today, the southern Thai province of Songkhla announced that it had 293 new cases of Covid-19. The majority of the cases (263) are linked to a cluster from a canned seafood factory. The governor of Songkhla, Jaruwat Kliangklao, says the new infections from Songkla Canning Co were found through active screening. Further, that those tested included people from at risk…
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South hit by 402 cases of Beta variant
The south of the country has been struck by a wave of Beta variant Covid-19 infections, after a cluster first discovered in a school spread to 402 people. The Beta variant, originally known as the South African variant, gives health officials greater cause for concern as studies show it may be more resistant to vaccines. According to the Bangkok Post,…
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2 suspected insurgents killed in gunfire exchange with police-military team
In a clash with Thai security forces at a seaside resort, 2 suspected insurgents were killed. As of this afternoon, a team of police and military were still surrounding the resort in Pattani’s Yaring district and another suspected insurgent was still inside. Pattani has been prone to violence due to the religious separatist insurgency in Thailand’s region near the Malaysian…
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Covid cluster spreads from Yala to other southern provinces
A Covid cluster in Thailand’s southern province Yala has widened to 190 infections in multiple provinces, says the Disease Control Department. The cluster started at a madrasa, an Islamic boarding school. The majority of the infections (69) were discovered in Yala. Some of the infections by province are as follows: Satun: 37 Songkhla: 17 Pattani: 14 Krabi:14 Narathiwat: 13 Surat…
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Yala enters lockdown today
Yala, a southern Thai province just north of the Malaysian border, is entering a lockdown from today until at least July 7. The lockdown is hoped to control the latest surge of new Covid cases. Yala’s Provincial Governor, Chaisit Panitpon, has imposed measuress to ensure people can’t get in or out of the Yala province. “If everyone follows the measures, I…
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Missing fisherman’s body found in sea off Nakhon Si Thammarat
2 days ago a local fisherman went missing. Today, his body has been located floating in the ocean in the Khanom district, an area in the southern province Nakhon Si Thammarat. His family has positively identified the body as belonging to 57 year old Sang Tenphusa. They say he was an experienced angler. Reportedly, Sang had gone out fishing off…
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Songkhla officials investigate pricey street lamps
Officials in Hat Yai, a city in the southern province of Songkhla, are investigating whether they paid too much money for street lamps. Reportedly, this the third such allegation made toward a local administration in Thailand… This month. The new Hat Yai mayor, Sakhon Thongmunee, has ordered a panel to be established after he got the news that an administrative…
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More details uncovered in billionaire couple’s Koh Tao death
Details are emerging on the tragic drowning death of a billionaire hotel owner and his wife in Koh Tao last week as police investigate further. Along with a more detailed picture of the events of the day, a few inconsistencies emerged from the original information as the story broke, including a time gap between the first shouts of trouble were…
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Bodies of couple who died at a Koh Tao pool sent to police hospital for autopsies
Medical examiners at the Police General Hospital will do an autopsy on the bodies of the billionaire couple who were both found dead in a resort pool on Koh Tao, an island in the Gulf of Thailand off the Surat Thani coast. The results on the cause of death will be released in around 2 weeks, Koh Tao police chief…
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UPDATE: Billionaire couple found dead at bottom of Koh Tao resort pool
The owner of a 5 star hotel in Phuket and his wife were found dead at the bottom of their hotel swimming pool on the island of Koh Tao on Friday afternoon. Police received the initial report at 4.45pm on Friday. The island off the Surat Thani province coast has gained notoriety after a string of suspicious and sensationalised deaths…
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