3 killed, 12 injured in avalanche in Nepal

KATHMANDU: Three people were killed and 12 others wounded in another avalanche in Mugu district in northwestern Nepal, a local official said on Sunday.

A total of 15 people from the neighbouring Jumla district went to Mugu in search of yarsagumba, a caterpillar fungus, but they were hit by an avalanche on Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported.

"All the 15 people were buried in the avalanche, 12 people could flee the scene but three lost their lives," Purna Singh Bohora, Chairperson of the Patarasi Rural Municipality where the yarsagumba pickers are from, told Xinhua.

The injured were receiving treatment at a local health post, he said.

A team of security personnel was sent for the rescue operation, but was hindered by snowfall, said Mohan Bahadur Thapa, Chief District Officer of Mugu, which is known as the most remote district in Nepal.

"The incident site is about a two-day walk from the district headquarters. Our rescue team hasn't reached there yet," he told Xinhua.

On May 2, five pickers of yarsagumba were killed in an avalanche in the Darchula district in far-western Nepal.