At the outdoor World Scout Jamboree, which is being attended by more than 40,000 young people from around the world in the sweltering heat of 35C (95F), hundreds have become unwell.
The Scout Association announced that the largest contingent, made up of more than 4,000 British people, is relocating from Saemangeum to Seoul.
The South Korean government announced that it was dispatching water and medical personnel to the area.
Every four years, in a different nation, the jamboree, dubbed the largest youth camp in the world, brings together scouts from all over the world.
This is the first one since the pandemic and it will last through August 12th.
According to AccuWeather, the area will experience thunderstorms and temperatures that will feel hotter than 40C due to heavy humidity.
The Korean Scout Association, which is organizing the event, was requested by the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM), the largest worldwide Scouting organization, to think about wrapping up early.
The host “decided to go ahead with the event,” according to the movement, which also informed attendees that it was “doing everything possible to address the issues caused by the heat wave.”
The WOSM urged the South Korean government to “honor” its pledges to provide additional funds and to give participants’ health and safety “top priority.”
The largest scouting organization in the nation, UK Scouts, announced that its group would be relocated to hotels over the course of the next two days to “alleviate the pressure on the site overall.”
It continued by saying that volunteers from the organization and other groups had worked to provide its members with “enough food and water… shelter from the unusually hot weather… and toilets and washing facilities appropriate for an event of this scale.”
As scheduled, the party will depart for home on August 13.
Others have excused the occasion by claiming that their kids were upset because they had to go.
An English mother from the north-east said that her 16-year-old daughter’s “great life experience” had changed into a “survival mission” during the trip.
“She anticipated it would be warm, but not this warm. They can’t cool off since their tents are too hot, the mother who wished to remain anonymous stated.
Her daughter had complained to her about the “appalling and unsafe” showers and toilets, as well as the “floating rubbish, plasters, and hair” that was clogging the drains.
She expressed her happiness at having her daughter relocated to Seoul, which is roughly 120 miles (197 kilometers) away from the campsite.
The situation, according to another parent, was so awful that they had to send their daughter back to the UK by plane on Friday. They claimed, “My concern was for the welfare of my daughter.”
Peter Naldrett, however, claimed to the BBC that his two kids were “frustrated, upset, and angry” over having to leave.
“The restrooms are a little grimy, but it’s manageable,” he added, quoting his children.
Children were “all devastated that it’s ended early,” according to Shannon Swaffer, whose daughter is 15 and is attending the event.
She continued, saying that her family had been “lifelong Scout people” and that the leaders had been “absolutely phenomenal,” adding that the heat was “by all accounts intolerable” and that both adults and children couldn’t stay there.
A statement from UK Scouts regarding allegations of poor hygiene is requested.
On Thursday, the Foreign Office announced that it had representatives on the ground helping British scouts.
South Korea is having a scorching summer, and for the first time in four years, officials have issued the country’s highest hot weather alert.
Most attendees to the camping event are between the ages of 14 and 18. There are teams from 155 different nations.
At least 600 people have recently received treatment for heat-related diseases, according to officials speaking to Reuters. There was no mention of their nationalities.
Han Duck-soo, the prime minister of South Korea, made the announcement as some criticized the government for failing to prepare for the excessive heat.
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