Rescuers found a man, a child and a pregnant woman in the remains of the ancient Iranian Silk Road City on Thursday. At least six others had been found since Tuesday despite what experts say are long odds of survival beyond 72 hours without food or water in such conditions.

Such "miracles," as rescue workers have dubbed them, have been fewer in this earthquake than many others in the past due to the mud-brick construction materials used in Bam which crumbled to dust, leaving few air pockets for survivors.

The quake, which measured 6.8 on the Richter scale, struck directly beneath Bam while most of its 100,000 people slept.

At least 30,000 people died and government officials have said the final toll may reach 50,000, making it one of the world's worst disasters of recent decades.

Seven survivors succumbed to their injuries after being evacuated to the central Iranian city of Isfahan and several others in the city were in critical condition, the official Irna news agency reported.

But with international aid pouring in to the affected area in southeast Iran, relief workers said health fears had abated.

"The risks one might have had are no longer ... There's been no outbreak of contagious disease," Frederick Lyons, the United Nations' resident coordinator in Iran, told Reuters in Bam.

Lyons said that with the search and rescue phase now over, the UN would launch a flash appeal for funds next week to address survivors' primary needs for shelter, food and water.

'Made world cry'

"The world will always remember Bam," Iran's influential former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on Thursday told a mourning service in Bam, 625 miles southeast of the capital Tehran. "It caused the world to cry," he said.

Stunned survivors huddled against the cold in tents or on streets and searched the ruins for friends and families as aftershocks kept people on edge.

Aid from some 50 countries has flooded in to help the stricken area, prompting an apparent thaw in relations between Iran and the United States after years of hostilities.

Iranian officials hinted on Thursday that US aid to earthquake victims may have eased decades of mistrust.

Rafsanjani told reporters recent developments may have an effect on US relations. President Mohammad Khatami's brother went further, implying the US response to the quake might lead to an unspecified reciprocal gesture from Iran.

Washington broke ties with Iran shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution and dubs it part of an "axis of evil."

But it has sent scores of relief workers to Bam and tons of aid to Iran, temporarily eased some sanctions on the Islamic Republic to speed the delivery of humanitarian relief, and hinted of a willingness to resume some dialogue with Tehran.

US President George W. Bush said on Thursday he appreciated Iran's willingness to accept US humanitarian aid flights but urged Tehran to abandon nuclear weapons and turn over members of al-Qaida in its custody.