OSLO (REUTERS) - Norwegian rescue workers on Tuesday (Jan 5) gave up hope of finding more survivors from a Dec 30 landslide that swept away a dozen buildings, but vowed to continue the search for three people who are still missing.

Seven men, women and children have so far been found dead after a landslide struck a residential area in the municipality of Gjerdrum, some 30km north of the capital Oslo.

"While we no longer have hope of finding survivors, we're not ending the search," police chief Ida Melbo Oeystese told a news conference.

Police and other rescue workers used dogs, drones and helicopters, including heat-seeking equipment, to search for survivors in the debris.

The landslide and the rescue effort have gripped the Nordic nation of 5.4 million, but with temperatures well below freezing, the hope of finding anyone alive had rapidly faded.