UK scouts are set to leave an international event in South Korea which has been hit by extreme heat.

Hundreds have fallen ill at the outdoor World Scout Jamboree, which is attended by more than 40,000 young people from around the world.

The British group of more than 4,000, the largest in attendance, is moving to hotels amid 35C temperatures, the Scout Association confirmed.

The South Korean government said it is sending water and medics to the site.

A statement from the UK’s largest scouting organisation said its group will be moved into hotels “over the next two days” in a bid to “alleviate the pressure on the site overall”.

It continued: “While we have been on site at the Jamboree, the UK volunteer team has worked extremely hard with the organisers, for our youth members and adult volunteers to have enough food and water to sustain them, shelter from the unusually hot weather, and toilets and washing facilities appropriate for an event of this scale.”

The group will travel home on 13 August as planned.

The UK Foreign Office said on Thursday it had officials on the ground supporting British scouts attending the event.

South Korea is in the grips of a sweltering summer and authorities have issued the country’s highest hot weather warning for the first time in four years.

The majority of those attending the camping event in southwestern South Korea are aged between 14 and 18, with groups from 155 countries in attendance.

Officials said at least 600 people have been treated for heat-related illnesses in recent days, Reuters reported. It’s unclear if any are from the UK group.

South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has announced aid is being sent to the site amid criticism from some that authorities didn’t plan sufficiently for the extreme heat.

He said: “The government will use all its resources to ensure that the jamboree can end safely amid the heatwave.”

Air-conditioned buses, water trucks and medical staff are being dispatched to the SaeManGeum camping site in North Jeolla Province, which is around 120 miles (193km) from the capital Seoul.