Rescue teams in Haiti are winding down the search for survivors. It is now nine days since the earthquake hit, and the chance of finding more people alive under the wreckage is considered nil.

Rescue workers from the USA, Belgium, Luxemburg and the Netherlands will leave Haiti on Friday for Curaçao. Other international emergency rescue teams will leave at the weekend.

Hundreds of thousands of people lost their homes in the disaster and the job of housing them in tent camps has begun. In the capital Port-au-Prince alone, about 500,000 homeless people are living in makeshift shelters without water or sanitation.

The capital's main harbour has been opened for unloading emergency supplies but it is still not fully operational. A Dutch navy ship, the Pelikaan, was the first ship to dock with aid. It has now moored elsewhere to make way for cargo vessels.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation is calling on the international community to come to the aid of Haiti's farmers. Seeds, fertiliser and animal fodder are urgently needed to keep up the country's food production.

Photo: a Dutch rescue team returns home (ANP)