South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol has ordered that “unlimited” air-conditioned buses and cold-water trucks be sent to a global Scouts event his country is hosting, after hundreds of teenage participants fell ill due to a heatwave.
At least 600 people at the World Scout Jamboree, which kicked off in southwestern Buan on Tuesday, have so far been treated for heat-related ailments, officials said.
Yoon called for the buses to be supplied so the Scouts can rest and cool down, and for the trucks to provide water, his press secretary, Kim Eun-hye, said in a statement on Friday. He also ordered officials to improve the quality of food being provided to people there.
“All government departments should make all-out efforts to immediately solve problems at the site,” Yoon was quoted by Kim as saying.
The event coincides with authorities issuing the highest-level heat warning in four years, as temperatures in some parts of the country exceeded 38 degrees Celsius (100F) this week.
More than 43,000 participants, most of them scouts aged between 14 and 18, are attending the jamboree, the first global gathering of the scouts since the pandemic.
South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that organisers have faced growing criticism after reports of hospital bed shortages, flooding and mosquitoes.
The difficulties at the scene have led to a debate on the preparations made for the event, with one MP from Yoon’s ruling People Power party (PPP), Yun Jae-ok, being quoted as saying: “The situation at the site is very worrisome, as more thorough preparation should have been done.”
Yun said the hot summer season had been forecast, and the site – 8.8 sq km of reclaimed tidelands in the southern county of Buan – offers very little natural shade.
At a press briefing on Thursday, Choi Chang-haeng, secretary general of the event’s organising committee, maintained that all the heat-related illnesses had been mild, with 39 still being treated at medical institutions.
“To prevent and respond to heat-related illnesses, we have secured additional medical personnel, including about 30 doctors and 60 nurses,” Choi said. Additional cooling devices would be installed in on-site clinics and more beds provided to care for patients. Six helicopters were on standby.
“We will ensure that Scout youths can enjoy the jamboree safely and in good health,” Choi said.
Simon Carter, head of media at the Scouts Association in the UK, 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.”
With Reuters
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