At least 16 people who went to Tyang-Tyang hillside in Dolpa district to collect yarchagumba herb (cordyceps sinensis), were reportedly buried to death by snowstorm while hundreds of others have been out of contact for the last three days.
The 16 feared dead - including six women - were among others sleeping in tents at Kaigau VDC, four days' walk northwest of district headquarters Dunai, at midnight Saturday.
The incident came to light only Tuesday morning when Nanku Budha, a local, arrived at the area police office at Kaigaun from the incident site with the bad news. Several localities in the area saw snowstorms for a couple of days.
Those missing in the blizzard are Lal Bahadur Budha, Dhanrup Budha, Deep Bahadur Budha, Bir Bahadur Budha, Khadka Budha, Laxmi Chandra Budha, Pati Budha, Dil Bahadur Budha, Amrit Budha, Madhav Budha, Rupdhan Rokaya, Ganga Devi Rokaya, Nandakali Rokaya, Lagani Rokaya, Surina Rokaya and Nanda Bahadur Thagulla, according to the regional police office, Surkhet. All the missing are residents of Sarmi VDC.
A rescue team from the Nepal Army (NA) that left for the incident site could not reach there due to adverse weather, according to the NA mid-west regional headquarters. An NA helicopter is currently stationed at Suligad in Dolpa, regional headquarters said. Details about the incident have not yet been received due to bad weather, said Ananta Bahadur Thebe, chief of NA regional headquarters.
Meanwhile, issuing a statement Tuesday, NA Directorate of Public Relations in Kathmandu stated that one of its helicopters is carrying out a rescue operation starting Tuesday. According to locals over 1,000 people had left for the affected area to collect yarchagumba.
Meanwhile, issuing a statement, Satya Pahadi, interim parliamentarian from Dolpa, drew the government's attention to the tragic incident. He also claimed that 16 deaths are confirmed while many others are feared buried in the blizzard. Over a dozen locals from Karnali zone alone and hundreds of other villagers had set out to collect yarchagumba, according to him.
A team of 10 policemen from Kaigaun area police office left for the area Tuesday morning to carry out rescue work. However, it will take them two days to reach the site, according to Dolpa district police office.
Narayan Shahi, a resident of Magma VDC-6 in Rukum who was one of those out to collect yarchagumba, succumbed to chilling cold. He died while undergoing treatment, said sub inspector Indra Chaudhary of district police office, Dolpa.
Meanwhile, our correspondent from Darchula reports that over 800 locals including women and children, who went to Rapla to collect yarchagumba have gotten stuck there after heavy snowfall engulfed the region.
Aan Singh Dhami, who managed to narrowly escape the natural calamity, said as three feet of snow blanketed the area, those collecting yarchagumba were left running helter-skelter. The snowfall over the last four days continued until Tuesday, according to him. No rescuer has reached Rapla, a six-day walk north of district headquarters Khalanga.
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