Heatwave forces Singapore scouts to leave jamboree in South Korea
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SINGAPORE – The 67-strong Singapore contingent at the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea will be transferred away from the jamboree site in Saemangeum,
However, the group will not cut the trip short.
Instead, it will link up with scouts from Britain in Seoul, where participants will carry out cultural programmes, the SSA said, adding that the group will return to the Republic on Aug 12 as planned.
The announcement comes after temperatures hit 34 deg C in Saemangeum, near the city of Buan on South Korea’s west coast, where 39,000 participants, mostly scouts aged 14 to 18, were camping.
Hit by the extreme heat,
The Singapore contingent will link up with scouts from Britain in Seoul, where participants will carry out cultural programmes.
PHOTO: SINGAPORE SCOUT ASSOCIATION
The SSA said that the Singapore contingent comprises 40 youth participants aged 14 to 17 years old, while the rest are adult leaders and volunteers.
The association said: “The safety and welfare of our young people and adult volunteers are of the utmost importance and therefore, after consulting with local stakeholders, we made the decision to transfer our young people and adult volunteers from the jamboree site.”
The contingent will be transferred to the Daejeon Education Centre in Daejeon Metropolitan City, the SSA added, before heading to Seoul to meet their British counterparts for activities like visiting tourist attractions.
The jamboree, which began on Tuesday, faced calls on Saturday for it to be cancelled after large contingents from the United States and Britain pulled out a week early over extreme heat and weather conditions.
Saturday’s pullouts are a fresh blow to the organisers and the South Korean government, which on Friday promised more water trucks, air-conditioned spaces and medics
