Sixteen herb-pickers dead in Nepal snow storm-army

KATHMANDU, June 1 (Reuters) At least 16 villagers searching for a rare and valuable aphrodisiac herb were killed in a heavy snow storm in a remote stretch of the Nepali Himalayas, the army said today.

The villagers were looking to collect ''yarsagumba'', a medicinal herb, when the storm hit the Kaigaon area in the remote Dolpa region, northwest of Kathmandu, at the weekend.

''Bodies of 16 people have been discovered under the snow and efforts are underway to take them out,'' the army said in a statement, after looking for the missing people for three days.

An army helicopter and dozens of ground rescuers have been scouring the slopes in the remote district, about 350 km northwest of Kathmandu.

Hundreds of villagers go to the area to pick up the fungus-like herb, also known as the ''Himalayan viagra'', during the summer every year. It grows in the meadows in the mountains.

The herb is used in Chinese medicines and a kg of yarsagumba costs more than 2,500 dollars.

Officials say even local schools are closed during the picking season to allow children to accompany their parents for several weeks and make a fortune for the impoverished families.

Reuters SBC DB1348