Thousands of British children attending the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea have been caught up in the extreme heat that caused 600 people to fall ill.
The event, which started this week, has drawn 43,000 young Scouts from 158 countries, with the UK contingent the largest at 4,500 attenders.
But due to the extreme heatwave taking place in South Korea, several hundred of those present have been treated for heat-related illnesses including headaches, dizziness and exhaustion.
During the opening ceremony of the jamboree on Wednesday night alone, 108 people suffered from heat-related illnesses and exhaustion and were taken to the hospital.
One British parent, who wanted to remain anonymous, said the organisation of the event had sounded “dreadful” when communicating with her teenage daughter on the trip.
“The trip cost over £5,000 and what I’m hearing from my daughter sounds like the event has become very disorganised and frankly quite miserable,” the parent said. “The weather conditions have clearly caused chaos, she missed the opening ceremony after queueing for over two hours to try and enter the stadium. On the first night they were given a damaged tent and then were also not directed as to where to pitch it.”
Another British parent, who also did not want to be named, said they were disappointed by the lack of communication from organisers from the UK’s Scout Association to parents about the situation.
“My child was only able to arrive at the venue a full day late, and when they arrived they saw lots of ambulances,” she said. “They had to pitch their tent up at night while temperatures were still high. I’ve only been able to speak to them via text, but they have said during the day there is not enough shade or air-conditioned areas. I’ve not heard much from the UK’s contingent”.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Simon Carter, head of media at the Scouts Association, who is on site at the venue, maintained that any safety concerns had been addressed.
“We wouldn’t have brought them here had we thought it was dangerous. A bit hot? Yes. Is it a different type of approach to the way you would live at camp in the summer in the UK? Yes. But that is part of the cultural experience.”
He added: “Our perspective is you just adapt to the conditions and make sure you do everything you can to keep young people safe.
“If you give young people lots of water to drink, if you encourage them to use the shade provided and you keep out of the sun in the middle three to four hours of the day, and concentrate on stuff in the morning and the evening, it’s perfectly doable.”
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: “We are monitoring the situation closely. Consular officials have been deployed on site to support attendees, and we are in regular contact with Scouts UK and the Korean authorities to ensure the safety of British nationals.”
