A team of security personnel have been deployed through a Nepal Army helicopter to search for two people missing in an avalanche at Chyarkhulek in the highlands of Mugu district.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Sudarshan Panthi said a team of 20 personnel of the Armed Police Force and Nepal Police have been fanned out to the incident site from Gamgadhi, the district headquarters.

A police team was dispatched to the incident site on foot to search for the missing duo on Friday but they are yet to reach.

Mugu Chief District Officer Mohan Bahadur Thapa said it was decided to send the rescue team by helicopter as it takes around six days for security personnel to reach the incident site on foot.

The avalanche struck a group of 15 Jumla locals who were on their way to the Mugu uplands on Friday to collect the yarsagumba (Ophiocordyceps sinensis).

According to the District Police Office in Mugu, Punna Singh Sarki, aged 38, died while Tara Singh Sarki and Bir Bahadur Bohora went missing in the incident.

The area where the avalanche hit is at an altitude of about 5,000 metres above sea level.

Mugumkarmarong Rural Municipality in Mugu will open the highlands for yarsagumba pickers starting May 18. However, hundreds of people from Mugu and Jumla have already reached the highlands by hoodwinking the authorities.