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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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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2 suspected drug cartel leaders arrested in Surat Thani and Phuket
2 suspected drug cartel leaders whose operations were based in Europe were arrested in the southern provinces of Surat Thani and Phuket this morning. The suspects are Alek Karun, of German/Russian origin and Alexander Wolfien, a German national, says immigration Bureau chief Sompong Chingduang Alek was arrested at a luxury villa on the island of Koh Phangan, in the Surat…
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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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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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As Phuket opens, Bangkok, 9 provinces face new restrictions
Things are changing next week in the level of severity of the rules and restrictions for Covid-19 safety and control. No, we’re not talking about loosening all the restrictions in the Phuket Sandbox reopening, we’re referring to partial lockdowns in Bangkok and 9 other provinces around Thailand to battle rising Covid-19 infections. The Royal Gazette published today the new restrictions…
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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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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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Driver killed after truck crashes from bridge, explodes in Hat Yai
A truck driver was killed in an explosion yesterday night after the vehicle drove off a bridge in Songkhla’s Hat Yai district and burst into flames. The truck transporting containers full of racks of eggs had passed the Sadao border checkpoint and was headed toward Nakhon Pathom. Officers investigating the incident say the truck crashed through a railing on the…
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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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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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3 dead in 3 truck crash in Surat Thani
3 people are dead and 1 more person is seriously injured following a 10-wheeled truck smashing into the back of a trailer that was carrying trees. A truck full of tires then careened into them, which then burst into flames. The fiery car wreck happened in the southern Thai province of Surat Thai, early today. The crash happened on the…
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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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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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Burmese migrants headed toward Malaysia arrested in Songkhla
Police arrest a group of Burmese migrants and an alleged guide from Myanmar in Songkhla’s Hat Yai district. Officers say the guide was leading the migrants from Moulmein, a city on Myanmar’s western coast, then across the Thai border to the southern province Ranong, headed toward Malaysia where they had jobs lined up. The migrants allegedly told police that they…
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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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Investigation over Hat Yai woman’s death after vaccine
An investigation has begun into the death of a woman in Hat Yai who died 2 weeks after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine to see if the death was related to the jab. A friend had suggested the possibility of a negative reaction due to the birth control pills the woman was taking combined with the vaccine, as blood clotting is…
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More assault rifles missing from arms depots in Narathiwat
Police suspect insurgents stole at least 37 assault rifles from armories in 5 districts in the Deep South province Narathiwat, which borders Malaysia and is prone to violence due to the religious separatist insurgency. Police have been checking the stock of each arms depot in the province. On May 18, police reported that 28 AK102s were missing from the 2nd Narathiwat…
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Health officials checking for additional cases of South African variant in South
Samples taken from Covid-19 patients in southern Thailand are being tested to check for the highly-contagious, so-called South African variant. Supphakit Siriluck from the Medical Science Department says so far, the variant has only been found in Narathiwat province, but samples from patients in Songkhla and Phatthalung are also being analysed. Supphakit says that at the moment, the world is…
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Over 2 dozen assault rifles missing from military base in Narathiwat
A military base in the deep south province of Narathiwat, discovered 28 AK-102 automatic rifles were missing. The rifles were first noticed missing on May 18 from the 2nd Narathiwat Territorial Defence Company, located in tambon Kamphu. The next day Mayusor Kudae, the assistant chief, filed a complaint with local police against those whom he believed were responsible for the…
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Villages in southern Thailand closed off due to cases of South African variant
Health officials in the southern province of Narathiwat have sealed off 9 villages after 3 confirmed cases of the Covid-19 variant first detected in South Africa. Opas Karnkawinpong from the Disease Control Department says the villages in the Tak Bai district have been closed off to prevent the virus spreading further in the province. The district sits across the Kolok…
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Australian arrested in southern Thailand on suspicion of international criminal activity
Officers from the Royal Thai Armed Forces have arrested an Australian national in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat on suspicion of international criminal activity. 47 year old Samuel James Norton Cook was arrested when his Toyota car was stopped in the Nai Muang sub-district on Monday night. Security force officers cooperating with immigration officials and the local police…
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Pediatrician says lucky 1 month old baby has recovered from Covid-19
A pediatrician is saying a 1 month old baby is incredibly lucky after recovering from the Covid-19 virus in Surat Thani province. Infectious disease doctor Suchada Ruenglerdpong says the baby boy was the youngest patient in the Prachuap Khiri Khan Hospital. He allegedly contracted the virus from a family member who was infected at a funeral cluster in the province.…
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Norwegian-flagged ship with 6 Covid-19 infections off Songkla
A Norwegian-flagged ship is currently floating off the coast of Songkla in the south of Thailand with 6 crew members infected with Covid-19. The offshore support vessel is named the Boa Deep C and is currently anchored near Ko Nu Island and awaiting further instructions. A spokesman for the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre confirmed that the boat has been…
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Suspected insurgent killed in gunfire exchange with rangers in Thailand’s deep south
A suspected insurgent was shot and killed in a gunfire exchange with Thai rangers in Narathawit, a province in Thailand’s deep south by the Malaysian border plagued with violence from the religious separatist insurgency. 2 other men were arrested after the clash with rangers in the Bacho district this morning. Another suspected insurgent is on the run. Rangers got a…
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Man struck and killed by freight train just 2 days after being released from prison
Just 2 days after being released from prison, a 34 year old man was struck and killed by a freight train in Songkhla’s Hat Yai district yesterday. Police suspect the man intentionally ran onto the tracks in front of the moving train as it was leaving the Hat Yai railway station about 300 metres away and headed toward the Bang…
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