UK Scout chief reveals Jamboree chaos amid South Korea heatwave – with ‘ambulances in all places’

A UK Scout chief on the World Jamboree in South Korea has described circumstances as “atrocious and unusable”.

More than 4,000 British attendees – a lot of them youngsters – are being moved from a camp into motels as a result of excessive temperatures hitting the nation.

The 29-year-old contingent unit chief claimed there have been “ambulances everywhere” – and the occasion’s infrastructure was ill-equipped to maintain folks secure in searing warmth.

Speaking to Sky News journalist Kirsty Hickey, he stated his group – which incorporates 30 youngsters – had been given bad-quality, small water bottles.

“A third have broken and leak even though they tell us to drink a litre every hour,” he stated. “Getting water is a 10-minute walk away in the heat.”

The Scout chief, who didn’t want to be named, additionally alleged bathroom services had been unclean, and there have been complaints the meals provided weren’t nutritionally balanced.

He revealed that they needed to look ahead to over an hour within the warmth for coaches to take them to Seoul – and claimed the emergency providers wanted to be referred to as after some youngsters handed out. However, the children in his group are wonderful.

“The money hasn’t been worth it as we’re leaving and not getting the experience we paid for,” the Scout chief instructed us.

“The kids are upset that this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity has gone to waste because of lack of organisation and preparation.”

The contingent unit chief added that compared to the 2015 World Jamboree in Japan – which additionally suffered from stifling temperatures – acceptable infrastructure made the occasion bearable.

It comes after organisers and the South Korean authorities stated water vans, air-conditioned spaced and medics had been being despatched to the occasion.

Temperatures in some components of the nation have topped 38C (100.4F) this week, with at the least 600 folks on the occasion having been handled for heat-related illnesses, in keeping with officers.

The occasion in southwestern Buan has attracted round 40,000 members from 155 nations, most of them aged between 14 and 18.

‘A whole mess’

Peter Naldrett, who has two youngsters on the World Scout Jamboree, posted on X (previously Twitter) to say that oldsters have been requested to not speak to the press.

He revealed that he had raised a complete of £9,000 so his youngsters may attend the occasion.

“The South Koreans have made a complete mess of organising this. The government took over running the site and it’s still a mess,” Mr Naldrett wrote.

He praised UK contingent leaders for the way they’ve dealt with the state of affairs and tried to maintain morale excessive.

“If moving all the scouts off site over 48 hours is honestly the best move for the event, then fair enough. But the kids are looking forward to trips out and the famous culture day,” Mr Naldrett added.

The father believes that youngsters ought to have the ability to return to the positioning for key occasions – and referred to as on company sponsors to make donations so their journey is not wasted.

Urging the federal government to assist, he concluded by saying: “There needs to be a massive effort to save this experience and it should be a no expense spared job… I do want the 4,000 UK kids to experience the international mixing and activities they have been flown over there for.”