At least 88 ill from heat wave at World Scout Jamboree

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At least 88 ill from heat wave at World Scout Jamboree

Published: 03 Aug. 2023, 10:01 Updated: 03 Aug. 2023, 14:27

Emergency responders are present at the World Scout Jamboree opening ceremony at Saemangeum, North Jeolla, on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

More than 80 participants at the World Scout Jamboree were sent to the hospital for heat-related illnesses after the event's opening ceremony, local police said Thursday.

According to the North Jeolla Police Agency, at least 83 attendees required medical attention at the on-site hospital to treat heat-related illnesses, while five others have been transported to nearby Wonkwang University Hospital after showing signs of anxiety disorders.

The ceremony kicked off at 8 p.m. on Wednesday and featured two and a half hours of drone shows, speeches, cultural demonstrations and K-pop performances.

First responders were dispatched to the site of the Jamboree after several participants collapsed as the ceremony ended, and safety authorities requested the organizing committee halt the event.

Although the temperature was 28 degrees Celsius (82.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in the evening when the ceremony began, the daytime temperature at the site of the Jamboree — an estuarine tidal flat region in Buan County, North Jeolla with little shade — hovered around 34 degrees Celsius for much of Wednesday afternoon.

"The participants likely developed heat-related illnesses after being exposed outdoors for long periods of time," a North Jeolla Police Agency official said.

The Jamboree's organizing committee plans to hold a press briefing on Thursday morning and explain the situation.