South Korea: hit by a heat wave, Americans and Britons flee a scout gathering

2023-08-05 19:18:48

After the British, the Americans also broke camp. This Saturday, scouts from these two countries withdrew from a world gathering organized in South Korea, due to high temperatures which sickened hundreds of participants, AFP learned from the movements concerned.

The American scouts, the number of which was not immediately known, will go to the American military camp of Humphreys in the city of Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, according to American officials. The day before, the British, who constitute the strongest delegation with 4,000 people, had also left the camp to fall back on the capital.

The World Organization of the Scout Movement has asked Seoul to shorten this Jamboree, organized every four years, which was scheduled until August 12 in the coastal city of Buan due to the scorching summer, one of the hottest the country has experienced in recent years.

But the South Korean government intends to respect the schedule, ensuring that it does its best to improve the reception of scouts despite the high temperatures. Representatives from participating countries are meeting on Saturday to determine the way forward.

Maximum heat wave alert

Some 43,000 people from all over the world take part in the event, which this year takes place in Saemangeum, Jeolla province, in the north of South Korea. But the Korean peninsula is currently experiencing a humid heat wave, with daily temperatures of 35 to 38 degrees, which has triggered the maximum heat wave alert.

According to local authorities and organizers, around 600 participants suffered from heatstroke or other ailments related to the scorching temperatures. The South Korean government sent military doctors and nurses to the scene.

REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

In addition to the heat issues, local media reported poor conditions for the campsite, with “less than ideal” sanitary facilities, including basic showers and toilets.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has ordered the dispatch of an unlimited number of air-conditioned buses, where scouts can temporarily rest, as well as refrigerated trucks loaded with ice water. Emergency aid of 6 billion won (4.6 million dollars) was adopted to deal with this situation.