Eight people are dead in the crash of a military rescue helicopter involved in flood relief efforts in northern India.

The Indian Air Force says five crewmembers and three civilians died when the helicopter hit the side of a mountain and fell into a river in the flood ravaged state of Uttarakhand.

The Indian military is leading the evacuation of thousands of stranded people, including pilgrims visiting holy sites.

There have been conflicting reports about the death toll in the flooding, with Western sources saying 1,000 lives have been lost and reports from Asia putting it many times higher than that.

Officials fear the death toll could rise as more bodies are recovered from remote areas. About 97,000 people have been rescued since devastating floods hit the state on 15 June.