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An ambulance caught fire outside Vachira Phuket Hospital early on Sunday morning, October 11, prompting an emergency response from firefighters. According to reports from the scene, the fire started at the front of the vehicle before rapidly spreading and engulfing the ambulance within minutes. Fire crews arrived promptly and worked to extinguish the flames. Authorities confirmed that nobody was inside the ambulance when the fire broke out. No injuries had been reported at th

Three Thai fishermen were rescued off Phuket’s eastern coast overnight on October 10–11 after their boat’s engine failed, leaving the vessel drifting at sea. Heavy rain, strong winds and rough waves complicated the rescue, forcing the first boat dispatched to assist them to abandon its attempt. Details of the operation were released by the Third Naval Area’s Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre (Thai-MECC 3), which coordinated the response. According to the agency’s repor

Two foreign tourists described as a couple have been accused of shoplifting at a convenience store in Patong, Phuket. They have also been linked on social media to a separate alleged theft at a clothing shop in Rawai, where a pair of trousers worth 1,595 baht was reportedly taken. The claims first circulated through social media, including a post on The Phuket Times Facebook page that shared an account from a Thai woman who said she witnessed suspicious behaviour at a conveni

A man was arrested during the Phuket Vegetarian Festival after district officials determined that shooting and balloon-dart games offering prizes in exchange for paid attempts constituted gambling without a licence. Officials inspected the festival area in Mueang Phuket district at around 10:20pm on October 10 following complaints about suspected gambling activities operating alongside festival attractions. During the inspection, they found shooting and balloon-dart games in

Phuket police detained seven minors suspected of taking part in illegal motorcycle races on public roads and setting off fireworks while recording social media content on October 11. Officers seized eight motorcycles and 50 fireworks and firecrackers. The parents of all seven teenagers are also facing legal action. The group, known as the “Bang Khonthi” gang, came under investigation following complaints about motorcycle racing and loud fireworks disturbing residents across P

A food delivery rider in Phuket has filed a police complaint, alleging that hotel staff took and ate an order of fried chicken intended for a foreign guest. The rider, whose identity has not been disclosed, shared his account on October 7. The name of the hotel has also not been made public. According to the rider, he accepted an order for fried chicken and left it at the hotel reception counter, following the usual procedure for deliveries to the property. He said riders wer

A 57-year-old Filipino man died after a lorry struck his motorcycle from behind while he was stopped to let pedestrians cross at a zebra crossing on Thep Krasattri Road in Phuket on October 7. Thalang Police received a report of the accident at around 5pm. Officers arrived at the scene outside a Shell petrol station and found a damaged black-and-red Honda Click 125 motorcycle. The rider, identified as Filipino national Oscar Deladia, was lying beside the motorcycle and was st

A 17-year-old Russian tourist who was reported missing has been found in critical condition in a Phuket hospital after reportedly being involved in a road accident. The teenager’s family lost contact with him at around 3am on October 4 and began searching for him. He had reportedly been staying in Bang Tao and was planning to meet friends on Bangla Road in Patong. According to information provided by people involved in the search, the teenager left his accommodation but never

A British man has alleged that he was seriously assaulted, restrained and forced to transfer cryptocurrency during an incident involving two Polish men and a close friend at a condominium in Phuket. The incident reportedly took place at around 11pm on September 29 at a condominium in the Chalong area. The man later shared his account publicly, and the case was reported on October 6. According to his account, the British man drove from Kamala to Chalong to meet a childhood fri

A 50-year-old Vietnamese national wanted under an INTERPOL Red Notice over an alleged property sales scheme has been detained in Phuket. Tang Ngoc Nho was detained on October 6 during a joint operation involving Phuket Immigration, Tourist Police, Special Branch Police and INTERPOL. Vietnamese authorities allege that Tang was entrusted with selling land and other property connected to 10 projects with a combined value of about 80 billion Vietnamese dong, equivalent to around

A 32-year-old Russian national was arrested off Phuket on October 4 after Marine Police allegedly found him working as a tour guide on a tourist boat without a work permit. The case began after a tourist filed a complaint alleging that the Russian man, identified as Konstantin, was working illegally as a guide. According to the complaint, he had been providing information about tourist attractions to a group of passengers aboard the boat. The tourist also told police that Kon

A 35-year-old American tourist was found dead in a hotel room in Patong on October 4, the day he was due to check out. Police found no visible injuries at the scene, while the cause of death remains pending an autopsy. Patong Police officers were called to the hotel on Ratsada Uthit 200 Pi Road at around 2pm after the man was discovered unresponsive inside his room. He was later identified as American national Smith Gray Allen. According to police, Allen was found lying on th

A 23-year-old delivery rider and amateur footballer has been arrested in connection with the alleged theft of more than 3.69 million baht in cash and valuables from the homes of two foreign residents in Phuket. The suspect, identified by police only as “A”, was detained at a checkpoint in Mai Khao, Thalang district, on October 2 as he was returning to Phuket. Police said the two theft cases were reported in Chalong on September 30. In the first case, 12 items, including a cam

Three foreign nationals were arrested on October 1 after allegedly starting a fire on a public road and holding a party in the Bang Thao area of Thalang district, Phuket. The incident was recorded and shared on social media, drawing criticism over the potential risks to motorists, pedestrians and nearby properties. A video posted on social media on September 27 showed three or four foreigners gathered around a fire burning directly on the road. A woman in a revealing dress wa

A foreign man has allegedly assaulted a Phuket tuk tuk driver with a beer bottle after refusing to pay the fare following a ride from Patong to a hotel in Kathu district. The alleged incident was reported on October 1, although initial reports did not specify when the assault took place. According to the driver's account, he picked up the foreign man and a woman on Bangla Road and drove them to a nearby hotel. After arriving, the man reportedly said he did not have any cash t

A Saudi Arabian tourist and his 14-year-old daughter were hospitalised after the jet ski they were riding collided with another watercraft near Naka Island off Phuket’s east coast on September 29. The incident took place at around 5:50pm in the waters off Naka Island in Paklok subdistrict, Thalang district. The injured tourists were identified as 35-year-old Saeed Abdullah S. Al-Sadiq and his 14-year-old daughter, Arij Faisal A. Al-Deifi. According to the reported account, th

A 28-year-old French national was critically injured in a shooting incident at a range in Kathu, Phuket, on September 28. Police are investigating the circumstances and have not yet confirmed exactly how the shooting occurred. Kathu Police were alerted at around 2:30pm and sent officers to the shooting range, where they found the injured man, identified as William Gill. Rescue workers provided first aid before taking him to Vachira Phuket Hospital. He reportedly suffered a se

A Thai woman in Phuket has reportedly lost more than 140,000 baht in gold and cash after a Moroccan man she met through a dating application allegedly stole valuables from her accommodation. The incident was brought to public attention by a friend of the woman, who contacted a local media page and asked for the story to be shared as a warning. The report was published on September 28, although the exact date and time of the alleged theft were not disclosed. According to the w

A 15-year-old boy died after the Toyota Vios he was driving crashed into a high-voltage power pole in Chalong shortly after midnight on September 27. Two other teenagers, both aged 17, were injured in the accident. The crash occurred at around 12:30am at the entrance to Soi Yot Sane in Moo 10, Chalong. The white sedan had been travelling along Chao Fa West Road towards Rawai Beach when the driver lost control of the vehicle. Chalong Police said five teenagers were travelling

A police officer in Phuket accidentally shot his mother in the head while handling his service pistol at their home on September 24. The woman was taken to hospital but later died from her injuries. The shooting was reported at around 9:20pm at a house in Koh Kaew, Mueang Phuket district. Officers from Mueang Phuket Police Station coordinated an emergency response, with rescue workers and medical personnel sent to the scene. Responders found the woman unconscious with a singl