Rescuers on Friday found a dead body and continued searching for nine other people, including a toddler and a 13-year-old, still missing days after a mudslide destroyed homes in a Norwegian village, the authorities said.

An entire hillside collapsed in Ask, 25 kilometres (15 miles) northeast of the capital Oslo overnight Tuesday, burying homes or breaking them apart.

"A dead body was discovered in the landslide," police said without identifying the person.

The police statement said the discovery was made around 2:30 pm Friday as Norwegian crews supported by colleagues from Sweden continued search operations in the snow-covered terrain.

The police published the names of the ten people subject to the days-long search. Eight are adults, one is two years old and the last is 13 years old.

IMAGES Images show damage to houses caught in a landslide as helicopters and members of the Norwegian rescue services search for 10 people still missing. Rescue workers are still searching for survivors of a landslide that destroyed homes in a Norwegian v
IMAGES Images show damage to houses caught in a landslide as helicopters and members of the Norwegian rescue services search for 10 people still missing. Rescue workers are still searching for survivors of a landslide that destroyed homes in a Norwegian village close to Oslo leaving 10 people unaccounted for, including two children, and 10 injured. AFPTV / STRINGER

Norwegian media reported that a medical helicopter and ambulances were at the scene.

The authorities have banned all aircraft from the disaster area until 3 pm on Monday as they conduct aerial searches.

"We still think we can find survivors in the landslide zone," a rescue worker told TV2.

"The fact that a discovery was made suggests to us that we are in an area where there may be people," the official said.

Map locating village of Ask, near Norwegian capital of Oslo, where people are missing and hundreds were evacuated after a landslide.
Map locating village of Ask, near Norwegian capital of Oslo, where people are missing and hundreds were evacuated after a landslide. AFP / Sophie RAMIS

Local mayor Anders ?stensen told TV2 he was trying to keep his hopes up.

"I choose to listen to the police when they say that the current operation is a rescue operation," the mayor said. "We want to have hope but we see very well what the site looks like."

Homes were buried under mud, others cut in two and some houses left teetering over a crater caused by the mudslide, with several falling over the edge.

The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) said the disaster was a "quick clay slide" of approximately 300 by 800 metres (yards).

Quick clay is a sort of clay found in Norway and Sweden that can collapse and turn to fluid when overstressed.

Police said 10 people had been injured including one seriously who was transferred to Oslo for treatment.

Prime Minister Erna Solberg visited the village on Wednesday and described the landslide as "one of the largest" the country had seen.

"It's a dramatic experience to be here," Solberg told reporters.