The disaster struck at dawn on Wednesday -- late evening in mainland France -- in the eastern village of Afaahiti after a week of heavy rain.

"I extend the nation's full support to the families affected by the tragedy in Afaahiti, where seven lives have been lost and people remain missing," Macron wrote on X.

France's high commissioner for French Polynesia said a "30-metre-high" landslide swept one house away, sending it crashing into a second.

"Given the configuration of the terrain and its instability, nothing is stable and it will take a very long time" to complete the search for victims, said Alexandre Rochatte, adding it could take "48 hours or even longer".

A resident of Afaahiti told AFP she was woken early Wednesday by what sounded like a train outside her home.

"We went outside and saw that a house was completely covered by earth and mud," said Ida Labbeyi.

Rescue operations had to be suspended for several hours after a second landslide nearly swept away members of the rescue team.

They have resumed and are expected to continue throughout the night.

"We are moving very slowly with excavators, dogs, radar and an endoscopic camera, because at any moment we could put weight on potential victims," said Colonel Olivier Lhote, who is in charge of the rescue operations.

Tahiti, nearly 16,000 kilometres (9,950 miles) from Paris is one of several French overseas territories that span the Caribbean and the Pacific.

French Polynesia comprises more than 100 islands, including Tahiti.