Islamabad, Aug 25 : At least 42 Pakistani pilgrims have died of various causes during the ongoing Haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, officials from the Pakistani Ministry of Religious Affairs and Inter-faith Harmony said here.

Of 42 victims, 30 were male and 12 female. Most of them died of suffocation or in road accidents, Xinhua news agency quoted the officials as saying.

The dead pilgrims were aged between early 40s and late 80s.

According to the ministry officials, 184,210 Pakistani pilgrims have reached Saudi Arabia under government and private programmes to perform Haj this year.

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Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.

The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.

Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.

The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.

Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.

The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.