US and UK scouts pull out of world jamboree campsite due to extreme heat

Thousands of scouts to be removed from site after hundreds of heat-related illnesses at event in South Korea

Tents are pitched at a scout camping site during the World Scout Jamboree in Buan, South Korea, Friday, Aug. 4, 2023. More than 100 people were treated for heat-related illnesses at the World Scout Jamboree being held in South Korea, which is having one of its hottest summers in years. (Choe Young-soo/Yonhap via AP)

Thousands of UK and US scouts attending the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea are being removed from the official campsite in the south-western county of Buan amid a suffocating heatwave.

The event, which started this week, has drawn 43,000 young scouts from 158 countries, with the UK contingent the largest at 4,500.