They treat 108 participants in a scout camp in South Korea due to the heat

2023-08-03 06:12:34

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — At least 108 people were treated for heat-related illnesses at the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea, which is experiencing one of its hottest summers in recent years.

Most have recovered but at least two people were still being treated at a field hospital at the scout camp Thursday morning, said Choi Chang-haeng, secretary-general of the event’s organizing committee.

The committee, which plans to go ahead with the camp following incorporating dozens more doctors to prepare for possible new emergencies, did not confirm the ages or other personal information of those affected.

The opening ceremony of the Jamboree was held Wednesday night, bringing together more than 40,000 scouts, mostly teenagers, in a camp built on reclaimed land in the southwestern city of Buan. The temperature there reached 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday.

During an emergency meeting, Lee Sang-min, the country’s Minister of Interior and Security, called on officials to study “all possible measures” to protect participants, such as adjusting the program’s outdoor activities, having more emergency vehicles and medical attention posts, as well as more shade structures and air conditioning. The goal is to avoid “more serious illness or death,” he said according to comments shared by the ministry.

Holding the Jamboree on a vast field without trees or shaded areas from the heat had raised concerns.

Choi insisted that the event was safe enough to go ahead and that the situation might just as well have happened if it had been held in another area.

“Participants come from far away and have not yet adapted (to the climate),” Choi told a news conference. Most of the cases might be linked to a K-pop performance during the opening ceremony, which left many of the teenagers “exhausted following releasing energy”.

South Korea this week raised its heat warning to the highest level, “severe,” for the first time in four years as temperatures hovered between 33 and 38 degrees Celsius (91 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit) across the country.

The Ministry of Security reported 16 deaths from heat-related illnesses since May 20, including two on Tuesday.

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