Kathmandu — In a tragic incident, five people searching for Yarsagumba, a rare medicinal herb also known as the Himalayan Viagra, are believed to have been buried in an avalanche in the Darchula district of far-western Nepal. The avalanche struck the Bolin area of Byans Village Council-01 on Tuesday at around 3 pm local time. The lost individuals include four females and one male.

Rescue teams comprising up to 80 personnel from the Armed Police Force and Nepal Police have been dispatched to the site. However, the search and rescue operation is being hampered by unfavourable weather conditions, according to the Deputy Chief District Officer, Pradip Singh Dhami.

The incident highlights the risks that harvesters face while collecting Yarsagumba, which is in high demand due to its medicinal properties and is sold at a high price. The herb is created when a parasitic mushroom infects and mummifies a ghost moth larva in the soil, resulting in a spindly fungus sprouting from the dead caterpillar host’s head. Harvesters climb snow-capped mountains for weeks to collect this unique caterpillar-fungus fusion, which is found at elevations between 3000 and 5000 meters in Nepal, India, and Bhutan.

Darchula is located in a mountainous district of Far-West Nepal, bordering Uttarakhand of India to the West and Tibet to the North, and has an altitude ranging from 518 to 7132 meters from sea level. The incident is a reminder of the dangers posed by the harsh mountain terrain and unpredictable weather conditions, which make the search and rescue operations all the more challenging.