LUCKNOW, India — More than 5,700 people missing since floods devastated northern India last month are being presumed dead, even as rescue officials struggle to bring aid to affected villages, top officials said Tuesday.
Vijay Bahuguna, the chief minister of the state of Uttarakhand, said the government would give $8,350 to the families of each victim who may have perished in the floods and landslides that hit the Himalayan region in June. The state declared those missing for the past month presumed dead so it could compensate their families, but Bahuguna said there was hope some could still be found alive.
‘‘The search for the missing persons will continue even after they are presumed dead,’’ he said.
The government had earlier put the death toll at 600 but repeatedly stressed that it would be significantly higher. The exact number of people who died may never be known, Bahuguna said.
‘‘The search operations will continue till the family members of the missing are satisfied,’’ Bahuguna told a group of survivors Tuesday as the state government began handing out compensation checks. Families receiving compensation will have to return the money if their missing relatives are found alive.