The whereabouts of the yarsagumba collectors who were missing since the avalanche swept them away is still unknown.
Scores of yarsagumba collectors have gone missing after an avalanche hit them in the Mt. Saipal region in remote Bajhang district of the far-western Nepal on Saturday morning.
It has been learnt that two persons in the group of nine collectors survived, and went to Kanda VDC and informed the locals about the incident. The whereabouts of other seven are still unknown.
It is believed that the yarsagumba collectors had gone to the region from Kathmandu by way of Humla.
According to the police, it came in to action after one Rajmal Bohara, a resident of Kanda VDC, informed the police about the incident.
A search and rescue team has been dispatched to the site to take stock of the incident, the police said, adding that the remoteness of the place and bad weather hampering rescue operations.
Also known as the Himalayan Viagra or Himalayan Gold, the Yarsagumba is a caterpillar fungus (Cordyceps sinensis). It is taken for an aphrodisiac and fetches handsome price in local as well as international markets.
Thousands of locals throng the upper region of the far-western districts to pick the prized fungus.