A 70-year-old woman pilgrim on way to Amarnath shrine in Jammu and Kashmir died of cardiac arrest, while a girl on the Pahalgam-cave route was evacuated by a helicopter after she fell ill, a spokesman of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board said on Monday.

Patal Jiviben Ramadass, a resident of Gandhinagar in Gujarat, passed away at Panjtarni last evening, the spokesman said.

Her demise raised the number of persons who died since the commencement of the annual two-month pilgrimage to 15. The dead included two Muslim porters who were hit by a landslide near Rail Pathri on Baltal-cave route on June 17.

The spokesman said a girl identified as Richa Singal of Uttar Pradesh was evacuated by helicopter by the SASB from Panjtarni to the Baltal base camp last evening. The girl was evacuated after she fell ill and her condition worsened. Meanwhile, fresh batches compring 7,616 persons left for the 3,880 metre high shrine from the Baltal and Pahalgam base camps this morning.

While 5,661 pilgrims left Baltal base camp, another 1,955 devotees were allowed from Nunwan base camp in Pahalgam, the spokesman said, adding 11,465 pilgrims paid obeisance at the shrine on Sunday.

So far, nearly 1.35 lakh pilgrims have offered prayers at the shrine.