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Srinagar, Jan 22 (UNI) One more Haj pilgrim from Jammu and Kashmir has died in Saudi Arabia, taking the toll to 12 so far, reports received here said today.

Sixty-five-year-old Mohammad Jamal Najar (Passport Number 47118 and Cover Number JK-2225-1) died of cardiac arrest due to a fall from Jabal-e-Noor at Mecca on January 20.

The other deceased Haj pilgrims from the state are Peer Mohammad Ahsan (62), Ghulam Mohammad Wani (50), Ghulam Mohammad Qureshi (74), Mohammad Maqbool Parray (67), Sonaullah Mir (74), Sara Begum (70), Abdul Gaffar Khanday (71), Abdul Aziz Bhat (59), Ali Mohammad Dar (65) and Ahadullah Sheikh (79).

The deceased also included Ghulam Qadir Bhat, the brother of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. Bhat, 64, had died of cardiac arrest at Mecca on December 21.

Meanwhile, another batch of 420 Haj pilgrims, including 178 women, from Jammu and Kashmir arrived here from Jeddah in two special flights today.

The pilgrims were received at the Srinagar Airport by officers of the civil administration, the Airport Authority and the state Haj Committee besides their relatives.

With this, a total of 5,099 Haj pilgrims from the state have returned here from Saudi Arabia so far.

UNI