Swiss evacuate scout camp in South Korea amid typhoon threat

Some 1,000 buses transported around 40,000 scouts from the coast to inland regions amid typhoon warnings. Keystone / Lee Hyun-woo

Some 1,400 Swiss scouts have been relocated from the site of the world's largest scout camp in South Korea after typhoon warnings.

“Apart from a few team leaders and other adults, most of the participants have left the camp and are on their way by bus to Seoul,” Barbara Hochuli, spokeswoman for the Swiss scout delegation, told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Tuesday.

Switzerland has one of the largest delegations of the 25th World Scout Jamboree, which was scheduled to take place in the coastal region of Saemangeum, some 180 km southwest of the capital, from August 1 to 12.

South Korean authorities announced on Tuesday that it had mobilised around 1,000 buses to transport some 40,000 scouts to Seoul and other inland regions after the weather service said a powerful typhoon was headed toward the country.

Bus crash

A bus carrying 38 Swiss scouts leaving the World Scout Jamboree site was involved in a crash on Wednesday morning on a road to Seoul. Ten people were slightly injured. They are expected to leave hospital on Wednesday.

According to Hochuli, the Swiss scouts will be lodged in student residences across eight sites in the capital Seoul. “The event will not be cancelled and the closing party will take place as planned on August 11, but certainly in Seoul,” she toldExternal link Swiss public television SRF on Monday.

She regretted, however, that participants didn’t learn of the programme change until after the media did. “People are running after information.”

The Swiss scouts will return to Switzerland as originally planned on August 12 and 13.

Criticism

The Jamboree already made headlines last week after extreme heat led the World Organization of the Scout Movement to recommend an early end to the event. Thousands of participants from the UK, the US and Singapore left the camp over health concerns.

However, most of the national associations – including the Swiss delegation – decided to stay in the country.

The 25th edition of the World Jamboree, under the theme “Draw your dream”, was due to bring together some 43,000 young people from 160 countries, who were originally housed in more than 20,000 tents.

The South Korean government said that it will cover the costs of the accommodation in university dormitories, training centres or hotels in the capital region of Seoul and other inland regions of the country.