Medics and relief workers in the ancient Iranian city of Bam are scaling down their rescue efforts despite still finding survivors from Friday's earthquake which killed at least 30,000 people.
As State media reported five people, including an 80-year-old woman, found alive, government officials said the death toll from one of the worst natural disasters of modern times could reach 50,000.
Two men and two women found alive late yesterday are the latest of around 2,000 people pulled from the rubble.
Around 14,000 injured people have been taken to hospitals since the quake but thousands more remain near the site of their former homes huddled in tents against freezing night-time temperatures.
Others, including many children, are thought to have died in the conditions as tens of thousands have been forced to sleep in the open. Blankets and clothing are an essential part of of the relief effort.
UN workers say roughly 90 per cent of the mud-brick buildings in Bam had been destroyed or damaged.
Nearly $500 million in relief assistance has been pledged to Iran from dozens of organisations and countries.
But most international rescue teams are winding-up their search as hope for further survivors fades.
"All we're doing is finding bodies. We're winding up the rescue," said Mr Ian Scher, head of Rescue South Africa.
Unofficial estimates suggest as many as 50,000 people may have died in the quakemaking it one of the deadliest natural disasters of modern times but Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said estimating the death toll was premature.
"We cannot say right now what the exact death toll is. We should wait until the rescue work and all the activities in Bam are finished," Mr Khatami said. The death toll is "definitely not 50,000" currently, he added.
Agencies