QUEBEC CITY -- Scouts from 40 countries camping on
                 a historic site in Quebec City have been treated for
                 hypothermia because they were ill-prepared for the icy
                 winter in eastern Canada, officials say.

                 The motto of the scouting movement is "Be Prepared".

                 The 3,000 scouts, aged between 14 and 18, are camping
                 on the Plains of Abraham, a battle site where British
                 forces defeated the French in 1759.

                 Organisers of the nine-day Jam des Neiges (Winter
                 Jamboree) said about 30 scouts had been treated for
                 hypothermia and influenza.

                 An Arctic air mass has blanketed the city and
                 temperatures have dropped to minus 11 deg C this week.

                 Three scouts had been admitted to hospital for
                 observation, said Mr Yvan Caron, chief organiser of the
                 event.

                 Mr Caron told a news conference that many of the scouts
                 participating in the first international scout gathering in
                 French-speaking Quebec City had arrived from warmer
                 climates and were ill-prepared for the icy winter
                 conditions.

                 He said emergency measures had been taken to insulate
                 tents and provide the campers with heaters before the
                 start of the New Year holiday weekend, when the
                 temperature is expected to dip to minus 25 deg.

                 "The situation is now under control and we are prepared
                 for the cold," he said.

                 He said in cases where campers could not be provided
                 with better insulation, they would be moved to a nearby
                 building. -- Reuters

                       Adapted from The Straits Times, 1 Jan 2000