The police have opened a criminal investigation into the disappearance of a woman who jumped into an ice hole on a frozen river and was swept away during a religious ritual gone wrong.

The incident took place on the Oredezh River in the village of Vyra, which is in Gatchina District, in Russia’s Leningrad Oblast region, on Wednesday, 19th January 2022.

The woman, who has been named as Anna Tuporshina, 40, can be seen in footage of the incident making the sign of the cross before jumping into the water as snow can be seen falling all around.

She does not reappear, and very quickly, a man jumps in to see if he can help her, but his efforts are in vain.

The woman’s children can be heard starting to cry and calling for their mother in the background as it becomes increasingly apparent that she has most likely drowned.

A man then appears to look underwater to see if he can spot the missing woman, but he emerges empty-handed as the children’s heart-wrenching sobs and calls for their mother intensify.

Newsflash spoke to Kristina Rumyantseva, head of the press service of the Dobrotvorec Diving Group, who said that the incident had occurred during an Orthodox baptism.

She said that the woman had jumped into the hole because it is the “custom of the Orthodox at Baptism.” She added: “Even the hole is made in the shape of a cross.”

The authorities also said in a separate statement: “The initial investigative actions established that on 19th January, 2022, a woman born in 1981 independently jumped into a makeshift hole located on the Oredezh River in the village of Vyra, Gatchina District, Leningrad Region, and went underwater.”

Rumyantseva said that there was no chance that the woman survived the incident, adding: “The speed of the current on the river is high, but there is a snag in the water. Therefore, we started the search from the scene of the incident, then moved downstream.”

She added that there were many drownings in winter but said that they did not “keep statistics of drownings during Epiphany bathing”.

Rumyantseva said that the group’s divers use special equipment to conduct searches in winter.

She said: “During the search in winter and summer, we use different equipment and gear. In winter, we work with ROV systems (remotely operated uninhabited underwater vehicle), motor drills and underwater cameras with infrared illumination. Our divers use winter diving equipment.”

She said that they had spent two days looking for the body and added that they would conduct another search if enough volunteers step forward.

She stressed that it was very important to be careful around water, at any time of the year, saying: “It is very important not only to observe safety rules on the water in any season of the year, but also to teach this to children. Water does not forgive mistakes. Be careful. Take care of yourself and your loved ones.”