A wall of melted snow and rainwater escaped from the ruptured Shadi Kor dam near the coastal town of Pasni in southwestern Baluchistan province late Thursday, washing away people, houses, cars and buses in its path.

The 485-foot-long Shakidor Dam burst late Thursday near Pasni, a remote village in Baluchistan province. Between 400 and 500 people were still unaccounted for, provincial Cabinet minister Sher Jan Baluch told The Associated Press.

Most of the bodies were recovered by Coast Guard patrols sweeping the coast with fishing nets, Baluch said.

"It's a big disaster," provincial minister for coastal areas Sher Jan told AFP. "About half a dozen villages have been submerged after the dam burst its embankment."

"We have recovered the bodies of 50 people," he said. Asked how many people were missing, he replied, "Since it's a large area which has been inundated it could be in the hundreds."

Residents in the disaster zone, which is about 600km from the provincial capital Quetta, also said many people were missing. Some may have headed for nearby mountains for shelter, the minister added.

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz expressed deep sorrow over the deaths and ordered local authorities to help the affected areas, national television said.

The military led a huge operation to search for survivors and provide aid. Around 20,000 to 25,000 people in 35 villages were left homeless by the flood, Sher Jan later told a news conference, while others lost crops and cattle.

Using helicopters and boats, the army and navy had rescued 1,450 people in the worst-hit villages of Sindhi Puso, Turati, Kurki, Zar Khor and Sharnu Bazar, the minister said. Parts of Pasni itself were also hit.

But rescue efforts were being hampered because floodwater also wiped out 40km of the coastal highway as well as a number of bridges and some minor roads.

The 25-metre-high (yard), 147-metre-long dam was built in 2003 at a cost of 45 million rupees (758,853 dollars) and used for irrigation. It was full when it burst, the minister said.