KARACHI, May 26 (AFP) - The official death toll from last week's cyclone that hit Pakistan rose Wednesday to 254 with thousands of troops and civilian workers still battling to rescue people. One tale of 19 Pakistani fishermen who survived the cyclone and reached an Indian port emerged, but officials told AFP another bodies have been found. "Hectic efforts are under way to rescue villagers, mostly fishermen, who remain stranded," one rescue official said. Ten paramilitary rangers were among the victims whose bodies were found in Thatta and Badin districts, relief commissioner Ali Nawaz Mallah said. Mallah said there had so far been no reports of contagious diseases breaking out. "But if the flood water remains for long it could cause a large-scale spread of diseases", he warned. A Fishermen's Cooperative Society (FCS) spokesman told how 19 Pakistani fishermen in four boats reached an Indian port in Gujrat after the cyclone hit the coast last Thursday. He said the Indian fishermen's association had informed its Pakistani counterpart that the men were safe. An army spokesman said hundreds of marooned people had been pulled to safety by army helicopters and several tonnes of food dropped to others. Officials are still trying to reach an accurate figure on the number of missing. An army estimate of more than 1,000 missing was given Sunday. Around 25,000 homeless have been sheltered in 32 relief camps in Badin and Thatta districts, out of an estimated 150,000 people affected by the cylone. Officials said about 50 percent of property, cattle and personal belongings have been washed away or destroyed in the two districts. The provincial government has appealed for money from private sources to help people in the disaster zone. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has visited the flood affected areas twice to monitor relief activities. "I will not be at peace, while the affected people are not at peace," Sharif told villagers. He ordered officials to mobilise all resources. The cyclone caused massive destruction in Thatta, Badin and Ketty Bandar districts, where at least 600 villages were hit and extensive damage inflicted on rice and sugar-cane, officials said. Officials have said about 50,000 houses and huts were damaged and around 152,000 acres (60,800 hectares) of farmland seriously damaged.  