A line of coaches is seen on a road outside a campsite during preparations for scouts to leave the World Scout Jamboree in Buan, North Jeolla province on August 8, 2023. Tens of thousands of scouts were being evacuated from their problem-plagued South Korean campsite on August 8 ahead of a typhoon, as the scout chief said the challenges were unprecedented in a century of global jamborees. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP)
PUTRAJAYA: A total of 474 members of the Malaysian scout contingent attending the 25th World Scout Jamboree in Saemangeum, South Korea are currently in the process of being relocated due to the threat of heat waves, and the site of the jamboree being in the path of tropical storm Khanun.
They were relocated to two places, namely the Korea National University of Agriculture and Fisheries and Jeonbuk National University in Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, according to a statement from the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday (Aug 8).
The Malaysian Embassy in Seoul is in touch with the organisers and members of the Malaysian contingent to keep abreast of the developments.
The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Monday (Aug 7) that the government would assume complete responsibility for providing lodging, transportation, medical care, and culinary services for all Jamboree participants.
In the announcement, it said it is committed to rethinking the Jamboree plan and coordinating its execution in line with the suitability of the newly selected site in order to ensure that the Jamboree's organisational purpose is accomplished.
About 43,000 young scouts from 158 countries participated in the event from Aug 1 to 12, 2023 at a camping site in a coastal area in the southwest of the country.
The event faced uncertainty from the outset when the British and American contingents withdrew from the campsite due to a heat wave.
The tropical storm Khanun witnessed in Japan is said to reach South Korea on Thursday with the jamboree site in its path. – Bernama
