News
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Drownings continue in Phuket: Italian, Thai dead
PHUKET CITY: An Italian tourist and a Thai recreational fisherman are Phuket’s two most recent drowning victims. Kathu Police were notified at 5pm on Monday that Italian national Antonio Salvatorebucca, 46, went missing in the surf at Patong Beach, across from the Thara Patong Beach Resort. The report was made by a friend of the deceased, 39-year-old Italian Zanchetta Gianluca.…
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Drug bust at Phuket Airport
PHUKET CITY: A Thai woman was caught at Phuket International Airport on Monday trying to smuggle a large stash of ya bah (methamphetamine) pills onto the island, police say. Pojjanee Thuptim, 31, was caught with 1,330 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills stashed in a thigh support of the type used for sports injuries, a source at the Phuket branch of the…
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Happy Birthday Queen Sirikit
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette joins the nation in celebrating the birthday of HM Queen Sirikit, the world’s longest serving consort of a monarch, who celebrates her 77th birthday today.August 12 is also marked as Mothers’ Day in Thailand.Born in 1932, Queen Sirikit was married to HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej on April 28, 1950, only a week before the coronation of…
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Phuket prays for baby with “mermaid syndrome’
PHUKET CITY: Surgeons are working desperately to save a Burmese baby born in Phuket with a rare birth defect known as ‘mermaid syndrome’, a condition in which both legs are fused together from the torso down. The infant, named Sui, was born at Vachira Phuket Hospital at 8:40pm on Sunday. Vachira Phuket Assistant Director Dr Sirichai Silapa-archa said Sui was…
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New Patong to Chalong road on hold – for now
PHUKET CITY: Work on the new Patong-Chalong road could continue soon, despite the project not having Cabinet approval for a hilltop stretch which cuts through national forest land. The road has long existed as a dirt pathway over the Nakkerd Hills, but its highest parts are only passable by all-terrain vehicles due to its sharp inclines, twisting turns and rough…
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No tsunami warning for Phuket
PHUKET / PHANG NGA: A tsunami warning was issued in Phang Nga’s Ban Nam Khem village last night, but there were no warnings or evacuations in Phuket. About 400 residents of the village in Phang Nga’s Takua Pa district were then evacuated early this morning following further warnings that a tsunami could hit their shore. The warning followed a 7.6…
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Mobile cart vendor severely injured on Phuket bypass road
PHUKET: A mobile peanut vendor was seriously injured and a female car driver miraculously escaped harm when their vehicles collided on the Phuket bypass road this morning, sending the vending cart and its owner tumbling into a deep roadside ditch and the car down an embankment on the opposite side of the highway. When rescue volunteers arrived at the scene…
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Phuket landlord arrested for triple homicide
RAWAI, PHUKET: Police have arrested a suspect for the Saturday night murder of three men who were gunned down as they drank beer together outside their Rawai home. A fourth victim, also shot in the attack, is in stable condition at Vachira Phuket Hospital. Police received a report of the shooting just before midnight on Saturday and were at the…
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Tsunami warning buoy for Phuket now dead in the water
PHUKET CITY: The tsunami direct detection buoy launched from Phuket in 2006 is inoperable because the Thai agency responsible for maintenance has not been able to replace its battery, the Gazette has learned. The Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) buoy was put into place 600 nautical miles northwest of Phuket early in December 2006. After its deployment, maintenance…
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Budget sought for “monkey viewpoint’ in Phuket
PHUKET: Rassada Municipality is seeking a large central government budget for three tourism development projects in and around the ‘monkey viewpoint’ area on Srisuthat Road. Rassada Mayor Surathin Lianudom said the work, if approved, would include a network of boardwalks through mangrove forest, renovation of the Mali Kaew Dam and Wat Phranon, as well as the construction of a gymnasium,…
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Spinal Patient forced to travel by wheelbarrow
PHUKET: An American tourist who broke her back in a cliff diving accident on Phi Phi last week, was taken to the ferry in a wheelbarrow after doctors at the local hospital were unable to diagnose her condition. Melissa Kelman, 28, from St Louis, Missouri, made it back to Phuket where an X-ray revealed she had shattered three vertebrae in her…
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Phuket warned of torrential rains, flash flooding
PHUKET: The national Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department [DPMD] has warned Phuket of torrential rains. Borne of the strong southwest monsoon currently prevailing over the Andaman region, the deluge, expected to cause flooding, is predicted to hit later today and to continue through tomorrow. The warning was issued late yesterday afternoon and includes three other Andaman provinces: Ranong, Trang and…
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Phuket police make little progress in Stuart murder case
KATHU, PHUKET: Almost six months after it began, the investigation into the murder of British expat Ian Kenneth Stuart appears to have gone cold. Mr Stuart, 61, was a Phuket-based businessman. He was beaten to death at his home and workplace near the Tesco-Lotus intersection on February 23. Police now believe the murder occurred during a botched burglary attempt. Tung Tong…
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Road closed for Saturday’s Buddhist festivities
PHUKET CITY: Buddhists and Saturday-morning commuters are advised that there will be a large alms-giving ceremony on Wirat Hongyok Road tomorrow from 6am to 8:30. To accommodate the ceremony, the west end of Wirat-Hongyok Road near Wat Naka will be closed to traffic from 4am to 8:30 am. Traffic along Chao Fa West Road should not be affected. The event,…
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Phuket Job Fair returns to HomeWorks
WICHIT, PHUKET: The Department of Employment in Phuket and HomeWorks have once again joined forces to help Phuket job seekers back into the ranks of the employed. More than 2,500 jobs will be up for grabs at a job fair at HomeWorks on the bypass road on August 14. Candidates will be able to apply for positions, be interviewed and…
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American chip shop owner commits suicide in Phuket
CHALONG, PHUKET: Friends and family are this week morning the loss of Thomas and Parnpan Quigly, otherwise known as ‘Uncle Tom’ and ‘Auntie Porn’, who ran the island’s first fish and chip shop on the road to Chalong Pier. Mr Quigly, a 61-year-old American, was found dead of a .22 caliber gunshot wound to the head inside the couple’s home…
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Ultimate Frisbee takes off in Phuket
PHUKET CITY: A small group of ultimate frisbee enthusiasts are determined to see the sport take off in Phuket. A mixture of traditional football, American football and netball, the high-intensity sport combines skill, athleticism, speed and stamina. The driving force behind establishing the sport in Phuket is Chris Fisher. “Playing ultimate within the spirit of the game is hugely important.…
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Samui crash ‘will not affect tourism’
PHUKET / SURAT THANI: The chairman of the Southeastern Thai Hotel Association is confident that Tuesday’s Bangkok Airways plane crash at Samui Airport will not affect tourism on the island. Ruangnam Jaikwang said he believed ‘tourists would understand that the crash was an accident.’ The Bangkok Airways plane skidded off the runway before crashing into an old control tower. The…
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Phuket launches anti-drugs campaign
PHUKET CITY: Around 300 students from Phuket schools and 50 police officers took part in an anti-drugs march around Phuket City on Tuesday morning. The march was part of a five-day campaign organized by Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop and police. Launched on Saturday, the campaign features a series of drug education sessions for children and teenagers. The aim is to…
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Phuket mangroves to be cleared for new road
PHUKET CITY: Work on a long-awaited road connecting Saphan Hin and Sakdidet Road will begin next month, even though the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) has yet to approve the project. Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop told a press conference at Phuket Provincial Hall on Monday that he has authorized work to begin. Cabinet approval could come at a…
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Samui Airport reopened
SAMUI / PHUKET: Samui Airport resumed operations at 2 pm today, Bangkok Airways announced in a press release. The first departing flight was Bangkok Airways PG100, which took off at 2 pm, bound for Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport. The co-pilot of the Bangkok Airways flight that crashed into an abandoned control tower yesterday afternoon remains in critical condition at Bangkok Hospital in the…
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Blood urgently needed for Samui air crash victims
PHUKET / SAMUI: Bangkok Airways is calling for blood donations of all blood types, especially from foreigners, following the crash at Samui Airport this afternoon of Bangkok Airways flight PG 266 from Krabi to Samui.The pilot was killed and a total of 34 people were seriously injured in the accident.Samui Airport has been closed following the accident. All flights to…
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Plane crash at Samui Airport
PHUKET CITY: A Bangkok Airways aircraft skidded off the runway at Samui Airport and crashed into an aviation control tower earlier this afternoon.The accident took place at about 2.30pm.The pilot, Chartchai Punsuwan, was killed in the accident.Rescue teams and workers rushed to the scene to evacuate the passengers.Initial reports said the 75-seat aircraft, arriving from Krabi, slid off the runway because…
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Two more tourists drown in Phuket
PHUKET CITY: The official death toll from drowning in Phuket since the beginning of the year now stands at 33, following the two most recent cases – both foreign tourists. Ukrainian Viktor Pravoyuk, 59, got into trouble at the stretch of Patong Beach in front of Loma Park in Patong in the early afternoon last Friday and was pronounced dead…
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Dasta seeks listing for all of Phuket
PHUKET CITY: The agency pushing to develop the Ao Phuket mega-project off Saphan Hin has finished holding public hearings and says it has overwhelming support for listing all of Phuket as a special administrative zone for sustainable tourism development. Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (Dasta) held the first in a series of public hearings with representatives from Phuket’s Muang,…
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Phuket FC lose at home again
WICHIT, PHUKET: A heartbreaking last-minute goal gave a 10-man Phatthalung side a shock 1-0 win at Surakul Stadium on Saturday, consigning the hapless Phuket Sea Dragons to their sixth straight home defeat. The defeat sees Phatthalung leapfrog Phuket FC in the table, leaving Somsak Waijerean’s men firmly rooted at the foot of the table in the eight team league. The…
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Lucky license plates up for auction
PHUKET: Lucky license plates will be up for grabs in Phuket later this month at the Phuket Department of Land Transport’s 5th Annual License Plate Auction. A total of 301 license plates will go under the hammer in the Prapitak Grand Ballroom at the Metropol Hotel Phuket between August 12 and 13. Some of the ‘lucky’ plates are expected to…
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Lottery players punt on one-eyed pussy
AYUDHAYA: Gamblers have been rushing to get lucky omens from the corpse of a one-eyed kitten which refuses to rot. The cat’s owner, 60-year-old Wichian Sangchai, said the kitten was the last of a litter of three born early in July in Ayudhaya, but died within minutes of being born. Mr Wichian said the kitten had only one eye and…
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Mystery motorcyclist blamed for Phuket pile-up
PHUKET: The erratic behavior of a mystery motorcyclist was the reason the driver of a souped-up Ford Sierra gave for wrecking his car, flattening vegetation and slamming into a pick-up truck in Phuket yesterday. The sporty-looking Sierra spun across two lanes on the road to Patong Hill, slid across the central reservation, collided with an expat-owned pick-up truck heading in…
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Phuket FC determined to win tonight’s game
PHUKET CITY: Phuket FC return to action tonight, determined to get their first-ever home win against last-place Phattalung. In their last match at Yala, the Sea Dragons appeared on course for a second successive away point until Yala pounced in the 88th minute to complete home and away victories against Phuket. According to Phuket FC coach Somsak Waijeran, the two-week…
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