5 In Search Of 'Himalayan Viagra' Missing After Avalanche In Nepal

At least 5 people out in search of Himalayan Viagra or the Yarsagumba are suspected to be buried in an avalanche in Darchula district of far-west, officials confirmed.

As per the officials, an avalanche hit the Byans Village Council- 01, Bolin at around 3 pm (Local Time) on Tuesday. Five people are confirmed to be missing with the search team at the spot carrying out the search and rescue operations.

"The missing people include 4 females and a male. The weather condition is also not good," confirmed Deputy Chief District Officer Pradip Singh Dhami to ANI over the phone.

As many as 80 teams from the Armed Police Force along with the Nepal Police have been deployed to the site, said Pradip Singh Dhami, the Deputy Chief District Officer of Darchula.

A caravan of people climbs higher up the snow-capped mountains for weeks during the annual Yarsagumba harvesting season. This year the harvest is about to start in the Himalayas of Nepal which is later sold at a higher price.

Considered a medicinal herb- the Yarsagumba, a unique caterpillar-fungus fusion occurs when parasitic mushroom spores (Ophiocordyceps sinensis) infect and mummify a ghost moth larva living in the soil.

Scientists have found that a spindly fungus sprouts from the dead caterpillar host's head. Two to six centimetres long, the fungus shoots above the soil, acting as a tiny, finger-shaped flag for harvesters to find.

It is found at altitudes between 3000 and 5000 meters in Nepal, India and Bhutan. Yarsagumba also is known as the Himalayan Viagra which is found only in the Tibetan Plateau.

One of the mountainous districts of Far-West Nepal bordering the Uttarakhand of India from the West and Tibet from the North, Darchula is situated at an altitude ranging from 518 to 7132 meters from the sea level.

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