3 bodies found after 6 went missing in Nepal while picking Himalayan herb

Kathmandu: Three bodies were found on Wednesday by security personnel in Nepal after six people went missing while picking a precious Himalayan herb meant for vitality, as avalanches struck two remote mountainous regions of the country, media reports said.

Yarshagumba is a half herb and half insect, believed to have the power to increase vitality and sexual energy. The herb, also known as caterpillar fungus, is found in the high Himalayas.

Security personnel found the bodies of two women and a man, who were among the five people who went missing on Tuesday in an avalanche which occurred in the mountainous area of the Darchula district, MyRepublica newspaper reported.

The avalanche buried 12 people who had set up tents to collect the herb, out of which seven were rescued alive with the help of security personnel and local people.

The dead bodies were found outside the snow about one and a half kilometres below the place where they had disappeared, the report quoted Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Deputy Ishwaridatta Bhatt as saying.

"After the bodies were located, locals, Nepal Police and our team reached the spot,” he said, adding that the victims were yet to be identified.

In a separate incident, a 32-year-old woman went missing in the Bajhang district after an avalanche swept her while she was picking up Yarshagumba, police said.

An additional team of police was dispatched to the area to conduct the search and rescue operation.

Yarshagumba costs at least Rs 50,000 per kg in the Nepalese market and has high demand in the international market.