Phuket’s postcard-perfect beaches once welcomed masses of backpackers, but the island is rapidly turning into an upmarket holiday spot by becoming Asia’s premier sailing destination. Phuket is already the crown jewel of Thai tourism, attracting about five million visitors this year — or one-third of all tourists to Thailand.
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/ 17 September 2007
Heavy monsoon rain hampered the retrieval of five bodies trapped in the wreckage of a budget airliner that crashed while trying to land on the Thai resort island of Phuket, killing 88 people. The Indonesian captain and his Thai co-pilot were both killed, but 42 people survived the crash.
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/ 16 September 2007
A budget airliner filled with foreign tourists crashed on the Thai resort island of Phuket on Sunday, killing 88 people as it broke up and burst into flames while trying to land in heavy rain, officials said. The remaining 42 people on board the flight from Bangkok survived and were being treated in nearby hospitals for a variety of injuries, including burns.
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/ 16 September 2007
A Thai passenger jet with 128 people on board crashed on Sunday while coming in for landing in bad weather on the resort island of Phuket, police and officials said. At least 39 people were killed, Thailand’s Deputy Transport Minister said. "Thirty-nine dead bodies were found. About 50 injured were sent to hospital," the minister, Sansern Wongcha-um, told reporters.
South African Anton Haig kept his cool in scorching heat to win the Johnnie Walker Classic after a three-way play-off on Sunday. The 20-year-old Haig, who birdied the 72nd hole to join the leaders on 13-under-par 275, sank a 10-foot birdie putt at the first extra hole to beat compatriot Richard Sterne and Briton Oliver Wilson
Retief Goosen clawed his way into contention at the Johnnie Walker Classic on Friday, lurking two behind Oliver Wilson who leads by a stroke from South Africa’s Anton Haig. The world number six compiled a 68 to sit dangerously in the shadow of the Englishman, who spoiled a perfect score by hitting a bogey on the 18th for a round of 66 to be 10 under for the tournament.
Adam Scott and Ernie Els wilted in the hot and humid conditions on Thursday and will need to produce something special if they want to reel in Johnnie Walker Classic leader Brad Kennedy. World number four Scott fired a three-over-par 74 to be nine off the pace while Els, the world number five, trails by eight after shooting 73.
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/ 28 February 2007
Retief Goosen and Ernie Els on Wednesday forecast a big future for golf in Asia, with more top players and leading events coming to the region and a champion waiting in the wings. The two players are in Phuket for the Johnnie Walker Classic this week.
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/ 27 February 2007
Ernie Els and Adam Scott do battle in Asia again this week with the prospect of more fireworks from two of the world’s top golfers at the lucrative Johnnie Walker Classic. The last time Els and Scott met in the region they went head-to-head at the Singapore Open in September, with the Australian world number four digging deep to beat the big South African.
Thailand’s natural beauty has long lured millions of foreign vacationers, but after the tsunami, a row is brewing over how best to protect the environment while accommodating surging tourism. Barely 100 days after giant waves pummelled the resort-cluttered Andaman coastline, the kingdom remains torn between safeguarding Mother Nature and promoting a multibillion-dollar industry.
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/ 14 January 2005
Nearly three weeks after the disaster, even the most persistent are giving up their search for the thousands of people who disappeared during the Boxing Day tsunami, especially in hard-hit countries such as Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
There cannot be many babies named after disasters, but then there cannot be many babies that nature has thrown so totally on the comfort of strangers as 20-day-old Wave. In his short life, the Thai boy has escaped a tsunami that appears to have killed his parents and the poverty that forced his carer to abandon him three days later.