Pakistan flooding deaths rise to 800

Floodwaters in northwestPakistan are now blamed for the deaths of more than 800 people this week, a government official said Saturday.

The death toll rose as rescue workers tried to reach thousands of people stranded because of the monsoon flooding.

Freelance reporter Nadeem Ahmad Sarwar said that according to UN officials, more than 26,000 people are marooned without food or clean water.

"Thousands of villages have been washed away, as well as dozens of bridges and telecommunications installations," he told CBC News. "That's why it is so difficult for rescue workers to reach people. Many of these places are in the mountains."

Helicopters, boats deployed

Rescuers were using army helicopters, heavy trucks and boats to reach flood-hit areas.

Record-breaking rainfalls have created the worst delugein the region since 1929. The UN estimated Saturday thatabout one million people nationwide were affected by the disaster, though it didn't specify exactly what that meant.

Floodwaters were receding in the northwest, officials said, but fresh rains were expected to lash other parts of the country in coming days.

The destruction is slowing the rescue effort, said Lutfur Rehman, a government official in the province of Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa.

"Our priority is to transport flood-affected people to safer places," he said. "We are carrying out this rescue operation despite limited resources.

More helicopters and boats are needed, he said.