International relief teams began arriving in western India on Sunday, as hopes dimmed for the thousands still trapped 48 hours after a massive earthquake left 15,000 feared dead.
Rescue teams from Turkey, Russia and Switzerland have already arrived in the worst-hit state of Gujarat, with others from Britain, Italy and France expected later in the day.
Fresh tremors on Sunday morning triggered panic in Gujarat's main city of Ahmedabad, where thousands had spent a second night out in the streets, too scared to return to their homes.
While the official body count from Friday's quake stood at only 2,366, senior government officials said the final figure would exceed 15,000.
The worst quake to hit India in 50 years measured up to 7.9 on the Richter scale and struck on the morning of the Republic Day holiday, with the epicenter located near the Guajarati town of Bhuj.
Bhuj and most of the surrounding Kutch region were still without electricity, water and communications, and facing a critical shortage of medical supplies.
"Time is running out for the hundreds of people still trapped," said Bhuj deputy administrator M.K. Gadhoi.
"The cries for help are getting weaker and fewer. We are helpless."
Some estimates have put the death toll in Bhuj, a medieval town of 150,000, at up to 6,000.
In Ahmedabad, there was some positive news when a Swiss team with sniffer dogs managed to pull out two survivors trapped for 43 hours in the rubble of a residential tower block.
"If anyone is trapped in an air pocket, close to a kitchen or toilet or any other water source, then they can survive up to a week," said the team's deputy leader Hans Peter Sutter.
"If not, then there is little hope after three days."
The quake collapsed thousands of building across the state, with aerial surveys revealing some villages that had been completely flattened.
In Bhuj, army and air force personnel continued to search for survivors through the night, but without heavy lifting equipment, the pace was agonizingly slow.
Medical help was sparse as the town's main hospital had been completely destroyed by the quake, burying patients and doctors.
Local officials said they were preparing mass funeral pyres to dispose of the bodies that had been recovered from the ruins.
The tragedy was seized on by 188 opportunistic convicts in Bhuj prison who fled after a prison wall collapsed.
In Ahmedabad, those brave enough to return to their damaged homes came running out again as fresh tremors hit the city around 6:30 am (0100 GMT).
"Everyone is still very much on edge," said local resident Sunil Raghu.
"There's obviously something going on inside the earth and there are no guarantees as to how safe the standing buildings are."
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Saturday voiced India's resolve to meet the demands of the catastrophe.
"We will soon rebuild the flattened houses and resettle innumerable habitations which were wiped out by the quake," said Vajpayee, who will fly to the quake-hit areas on Monday.
Gujarat, which is in an earthquake-prone zone, has a population of around 42 million, of whom about 3.6 million live in Ahmedabad.
The last major earthquake to hit India was in March 1999. Measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, it killed 100 people in the Himalayan foothills -- AHMEDABAD, India (AFP)
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