But the decision is believed by some to be too hasty. On Sunday at least three more people were brought out alive - a 57-year-old disabled woman, a 35-year-old woman and a 14-year-old girl.

One American rescuer who has been helping the operation with his dog told the BBC that the hunt should continue.

"We found people in 1990 in the Philippine earthquake 10 days after they had been buried still alive in an elevator shaft," he said. "I would give it a minimum of 12 days."

The BBC's James Coomarasarmy: "People continue to be found alive"

The rescuer from Portland, Oregon, was also critical of the Turkish organisation, saying the authorities had not set up an efficient command centre.

He said the government should now concentrate on the health issues and allow the experts to continue trying to find survivors.

British and Dutch rescue teams are withdrawing from the town of Adapazari to allow bulldozers to move in and complete the clearing operation to reduce the risk of an epidemic.

A spokesman for the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Co-ordination (Undac) team said that it would "be a miracle" if any more survivors were found.

The BBC's Chris Morris: "Many people don't know the fate of their loved ones"

Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit warned that the risk of disease was now so great that bodies would be buried before they had been identified.

(Click here to see a map of where the earthquake struck)

The death toll from Tuesday's earthquake rose to 12,000 on Saturday with another 35,000 estimated to be buried beneath the rubble.

As heavy equipment moved in on Saturday to accelerate the clearance, members of the British Rapid UK Rescue Team were told their skills were no longer needed.

An American aid worker urges the search to go on

The team said the Turkish authorities had decided the risks of cholera and typhus were now so great that it was better to concentrate on the living.

Rescue worker Barry Sessions said he was prepared to continue. But he added: "As time goes on you find more dead people than live ones - that's the way it is."

American workers in Izmit say they still hope to find survivors and will continue looking for the next few days.

Gary O'Shea from The International Rescue Corp says his team are burnt out

The BBC's correspondent in Adapazari, Gavin Hewitt, says some of the rescuers there would also prefer to continue searching, but the local operation is now concentrating on burying all the rubble in a big pit outside the town.

PM urges quick funerals

Addressing his mourning nation on television, Prime Minister Ecevit warned that delaying funerals to allow identification of all the victims could cause an epidemic outbreak.

"It is impossible for now to identify the majority of the bodies retrieved from the wreckage," he said.

"Photographs are being taken of those quake victims who have not been identified. In this way, there will be the possibility of identifying them in the future."

People made homeless are being housed in tent cities

Mr Ecevit also described criticism of his government's handling of the disaster as "offensive".

He said the fact that international organisations with "influence in financial circles" were offering help was proof of the state's competence.

He said the reason why so many buildings had collapsed was because building regulations had been "intentionally violated".

Tent cities

As aftershocks continue to rock the region, tented cities are being created on the outskirts of affected towns.

The UN rapid response unit operating in Turkey estimates that the number of homeless to be about 200,000.

About one million people are thought to be sleeping in the open, fearful of returning to their homes.

The Turkish Government promised that prefabricated housing would be provided with "new and safe settlements" to follow.

It says the earthquake is the worst economic disaster in modern Turkish history, with a financial cost of $5bn or more.

Tales of survival

On Saturday, up to 10 survivors were pulled out of the rubble more than 100 hours after the earthquake struck.

Joy for the father of two sisters rescued on Saturday

In Cinarcik, 30 miles south of Istanbul, Israeli soldiers managed to free 10-year-old Shiran Franco from the debris of a collapsed building. But several other members of her family perished in the disaster.

Turkish and French rescuers freed an 11-year-old girl, Merve Ekinci, in the seaside town of Yalova.

She was taken to a waiting ambulance with her father. Her sister and brother are dead and it is not clear what has happened to her mother.

And a 95-year-old woman was rescued by the Austrian army in a block of holiday homes, overlooking the Sea of Marmara.

US aid

Three US naval ships are preparing to join the rescue and relief operation.

The USS Kearsarge - the largest US naval vessel in the area - and two supporting ships will provide 22 helicopters, cranes, bulldozers, jeeps and more than 2,000 American marines.

They also carry an impressive array of medical facilities including five X-ray units and six operating theatres.

Read the accounts of those who experienced the earthquake by clicking here