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Srinagar, Jan 9 (UNI) Another batch of 427 Haj pilgrims, including 183 women, arrived here from Jeddah in two special flights today.

The pilgrims were received at the Sheikh-ul-Alam airport by senior civil, police and Haj officials besides their relatives.

In all, 52 special Haj flights would be operated from the capital of Saudi Arabia to here till February 5. Each flight would carry about 215 pilgrims.

A record number of 10,453 pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir performed Haj in 2006. In all, 1,10,000 pilgrims from India were among more than 2.5 million Muslims who had gathered at Mecca, Saudi Arabia, from around the world to perform Haj this time.

The departure schedule of the Haj pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir had started from here on November 22 and culminated on December 25.

As many as 111 pilgrims from India died of natural causes during Haj this time. Majority of them died of cardiac arrest.

Uttar Pradesh and Kerala accounted for maximum deaths with 24 pilgrims from each state succumbing to natural causes. While 11 pilgrims belonged to Karnataka, eight were from Maharashta and seven from Rajasthan.

Among the dead were five pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir, three each from Gujarat and Bihar, two from Uttaranchal and one each from West Bengal, Manipur, Asom, Puducherry, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi.

The deceased Haj pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir included Ghulam Qadir Bhat, the brother of Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.

However, the five-day Haj ended on January one without the deadly crowding or violent clashes which marred the pilgrimage other years.

Last January, about 362 pilgrims were crushed to death during a stone-throwing ritual at the Jamarat Bridge in the worst Haj tragedy in 16 years. In 2004, 250 pilgrims died at the same spot.

All able-bodied Muslims are required to perform the Haj at least once in their lifetime, if they can afford it. The pilgrims retrace the steps of the Prophet Mohammad in one of the world's biggest annual mass movement of the people on the planet.

UNI