Karachi, Aug 05: Rescue teams discovered nine more bodies today as flood waters continued to recede in southern Pakistan, relief officials said, pulling a curtain back on devastation that has killed scores and left thousands homeless.

The bodies of three children, two women and four men were found in the debris of houses in remote villages of Badin, about 250 kilometers southeast of Karachi, the capital of Pakistan's Sindh province where most of the deaths occurred, said Mohammed Saleh, a provincial relief official.
According to the government's latest estimates, 231 people have died nationwide since monsoon rains began July 1. The vast majority - 162 people - have died in southern Sindh province in the past 10 days of heavy flooding.
The flooding has also left over 50,000 people homeless in Sindh, where it has wreaked havoc on the area's flimsy mud-baked houses, said Saleh. Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali canceled a trip to Saudi Arabia this week to deal with the crisis.
The government has set up a relief fund of 50 million rupees (US$830,000) to help homeless villagers in the Sindh province. Pakistan yesterday also sought the international community's help for the flood victims.



Saleh said about 22,000 people are still living in temporary camps set up by the government in the flood-hit areas, though thousands of others have gone back to their villages to repair their homes.


Bureau Report