June 7: Three yarsagumba collectors who went missing in an avalanche have been found dead after 32 days.

The bodies of 40-year-old Tara Singh Sarki, 35-year-old Punn Sarki and 35-year-old Bir Bohora were found on Monday. According to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mahesh Basnet, they were among 15 people from Talfi village of Patarasi Rural Municipality-2 in Jumla who went to pick yarsagumba in Patan, Mugu.

They went to collect yarsagumba, a prized herb known for its aphrodisiac property,  on May 5 and disappeared in an avalanche.

DSP Basnet said that the missing bodies were found after two weeks of search by the Nepal Police and Armed Police Force teams with helicopters of the Kanali Provincial Government in coordination with the District Administration Office and Patarasi Rural Municipality.

He said that there was a problem in the search operation due to heavy snowfall in the mountains.

"We brought the bodies of the three missing persons two kilometers below the incident site," he said. DSP Basnet said that a team of doctors from the District Hospital Mugu conducted an autopsy on the bodies. The deceased were cremated after the bodies were handed over to the relatives.