5 people missing due to avalanche while searching for 'miracle drug'

Four women and one man have been missing since Tuesday when an avalanche hit their camp in Byas village, while seven others managed to escape, Darchula district official Pradip Singh Dhami said by phone.

Illustration photo: Reuters

The area is located about 500 km (312 miles) northwest of Nepal's capital Kathmandu - famous for its rare herbal medicines growing on snowy mountain peaks.

"The search for the missing villagers has been hampered due to continuous snowfall and rain in the area," Dhami said.

Hundreds of villagers regularly travel to the foothills of the Himalayas in the summer to pick the mushroom-like herb, also known as the "Himalayan Viagra".

Previously, 16 villagers picking expensive medicinal herbs died in the remote Dolpa region bordering China during a heavy snowstorm in 2007.

Mai Anh (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/nepal-5-nguoi-mat-tich-do-lo-tuyet-khi-dang-di-tim-than-duoc-post246144.html