GENEVA: UN aid agencies launched an emergency appeal for approximately $550 million on Friday to help survivors of the earthquake in Haiti.

A spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said 17 search and rescue teams were deployed in the capital Port-au-Prince, with six more on their way.

"There are pockets of survival, we shouldn't give up hope," spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs said. "They are working around the clock."