Story By: Anastasia Smirnova, Sub-Editor:  Joseph Golder, Agency:  Newsflash

Newsflash/@mil

This is the moment Russian soldiers carry out a huge explosion on a frozen river to clear ice and prevent flooding.

The controlled detonation took place on the River Urshak in the district of Chishminsky located in the south-western Russian republic of Bashkortostan and the footage was shared on social media by the Russian Ministry of Defence.

In the video, military engineers are seen drilling holes into the ice before dropping explosives down into the water.

The explosives are then detonated, sending a series of water gushes high into the air.

After detonation, the ice is seen breaking up at a rapid rate accompanied by a thunderous noise.

According to reports, the section of frozen river was broken up so that the ice doesn’t melt at once when warm weather arrives cause flooding in the area.

The operation was overseen by Colonel General Alexander Lapin and colleagues at the control centre in the city of Yekaterinburg in western Russia’s Sverdlovsk Oblast region, according to reports.

Local media said that military engineers have already broken up the ice in other areas of the river to protect bridges and hydraulic structures.

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